IVIG Treatment for Refractory Immune-Related Adult Epilepsy

Summary

The purpose of the initial screening study is to find out if immune problems are an unrecognized cause of epilepsy in some patients. This study consists of a single blood sample, which will be tested for possible immune abnormalities. If enough patients are found who show immune abnormalities, those patients who are still having uncontrolled seizures will be invited to participate in a study of immune treatment with a compound called intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). The study hypothesis is that a significant proportion of the young-onset, refractory, image-negative, partial-onset epilepsy population have an underlying autoimmune disorder, and many of these patients will respond to immune therapies, including IVIG. At present, the importance of immune abnormalities in causing epilepsy, and the proper treatment when they are found, are both poorly understood. The investigators hope that this study will help us understand the cause of some cases that are difficult to treat.

Timeline

Start

2011-11

Primary completion

2013-06

Completion

2013-08

Outcome

Outcome not reported

Stopped: “Futility criteria, unable for Phase 2 of study, \& phase 1 was terminated.”

Publications

• Background Alamowitch S, Graus F, Uchuya M, Rene R, Bescansa E, Delattre JY. Limbic encephalitis and small cell lung cancer. Clinical and immunological features. Brain. 1997 Jun;120 ( Pt 6):923-8. doi: 10.1093/brain/120.6.923.
• Background Graus F, Keime-Guibert F, Rene R, Benyahia B, Ribalta T, Ascaso C, Escaramis G, Delattre JY. Anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis: analysis of 200 patients. Brain. 2001 Jun;124(Pt 6):1138-48. doi: 10.1093/brain/124.6.1138.
• Background Gultekin SH, Rosenfeld MR, Voltz R, Eichen J, Posner JB, Dalmau J. Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis: neurological symptoms, immunological findings and tumour association in 50 patients. Brain. 2000 Jul;123 ( Pt 7):1481-94. doi: 10.1093/brain/123.7.1481.
• Background Jacobs DA, Fung KM, Cook NM, Schalepfer WW, Goldberg HI, Stecker MM. Complex partial status epilepticus associated with anti-Hu paraneoplastic syndrome. J Neurol Sci. 2003 Sep 15;213(1-2):77-82. doi: 10.1016/s0022-510x(03)00130-8.
• Background Lawn ND, Westmoreland BF, Kiely MJ, Lennon VA, Vernino S. Clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, and electroencephalographic findings in paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003 Nov;78(11):1363-8. doi: 10.4065/78.11.1363.
• Background Lucchinetti CF, Kimmel DW, Lennon VA. Paraneoplastic and oncologic profiles of patients seropositive for type 1 antineuronal nuclear autoantibodies. Neurology. 1998 Mar;50(3):652-7. doi: 10.1212/wnl.50.3.652.
• Background McKeon A, Ahlskog JE, Britton JW, Lennon VA, Pittock SJ. Reversible extralimbic paraneoplastic encephalopathies with large abnormalities on magnetic resonance images. Arch Neurol. 2009 Feb;66(2):268-71. doi: 10.1001/archneurol.2008.556.
• Background Nahab F, Heller A, Laroche SM. Focal cortical resection for complex partial status epilepticus due to a paraneoplastic encephalitis. Neurologist. 2008 Jan;14(1):56-9. doi: 10.1097/NRL.0b013e3181578952.
• Background Pittock SJ, Kryzer TJ, Lennon VA. Paraneoplastic antibodies coexist and predict cancer, not neurological syndrome. Ann Neurol. 2004 Nov;56(5):715-9. doi: 10.1002/ana.20269.
• Background Porta-Etessam J, Ruiz-Morales J, Millan JM, Ramos A, Martinez-Salio A, Berbel-Garcia A. Epilepsia partialis continua and frontal features as a debut of anti-Hu paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis with focal frontal encephalitis. Eur J Neurol. 2001 Jul;8(4):359-60. doi: 10.1046/j.1468-1331.2001.00213.x. No abstract available.
• Background Shavit YB, Graus F, Probst A, Rene R, Steck AJ. Epilepsia partialis continua: a new manifestation of anti-Hu-associated paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis. Ann Neurol. 1999 Feb;45(2):255-8. doi: 10.1002/1531-8249(199902)45:23.0.co;2-n.
• Background Thieben MJ, Lennon VA, Boeve BF, Aksamit AJ, Keegan M, Vernino S. Potentially reversible autoimmune limbic encephalitis with neuronal potassium channel antibody. Neurology. 2004 Apr 13;62(7):1177-82. doi: 10.1212/01.wnl.0000122648.19196.02.
• Background Matarasso N, Bar-Shira A, Rozovski U, Rosner S, Orr-Urtreger A. Functional analysis of the Aurora Kinase A Ile31 allelic variant in human prostate. Neoplasia. 2007 Sep;9(9):707-15. doi: 10.1593/neo.07322.
• Background Rudzinski LA, Pittock SJ, McKeon A, Lennon VA, Britton JW. Extratemporal EEG and MRI findings in ANNA-1 (anti-Hu) encephalitis. Epilepsy Res. 2011 Aug;95(3):255-62. doi: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2011.04.006. Epub 2011 May 12.

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