Levetiracetam for Alzheimer's Disease Neuropsychiatric Symptoms Related to Epilepsy Trial (LAPSE)

Summary

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are increasingly recognized to have seizures in addition to cognitive decline. Seizures may contribute to memory problems as well as other symptoms common in AD like agitation, depression, or apathy. These symptoms are collectively called neuro-psychiatric symptoms. Studies of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with AD have suggested that injury to certain parts of the brain can cause these neuro-psychiatric symptoms. Based on this evidence, the investigators hypothesize that seizures can also cause neuro-psychiatric symptoms in patients with AD and may be related to the injury seen on MRI. The current study will follow participants for 1 year and will involve participants with AD who also have neuro-psychiatric symptoms. Participants will be examined with three brain wave studies to assess for seizure-like activity. Participants with seizure-like activity will all receive levetiracetam for 1 year. All participants will have their neuro-psychiatric symptoms, cognitive abilities, quality of life, and AD severity assessed throughout the year. The investigators plan to determine if levetiracetam changes the severity of the participants' neuro-psychiatric symptoms compared to their baseline as well as compared to participants without seizure-like activity. 65 participants will need to be recruited to test the study hypotheses. The study will take place at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Timeline

Start

2020-01

Primary completion

2024-12

Completion

2025-06

Publications

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