Investigation of Blood-Brain-Barrier Breakdown Using Manganese Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

NCT ID: NCT02531880

Last Updated: 2025-12-31

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

PHASE1

Total Enrollment

40 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-11-19

Study Completion Date

2026-07-01

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Background:

\- The blood-brain barrier separates the brain from the rest of the body. Epilepsy is a neurological disease that causes seizures. It can affect this barrier. Researchers think a contrast agent called mangafodipir might be better able to show areas of the brain that epilepsy affects.

Objective:

\- To see if mangafodipir is well tolerated and safe. To see if it can show, on an MRI, areas of the brain that epilepsy affects.

Eligibility:

* People ages 18-60 who:
* Have epilepsy not controlled by drugs
* Prior or concurrent enrollment in 18-N-0066 is required

Design:

* Participants will be screened with:
* Medical history
* Physical exam
* Blood and urine tests
* Participants will have up to 6 visits in 1-3 months. Those with epilepsy will have an inpatient stay lasting 2-10 days. Visits may include:
* Video-EEG monitoring for participants with epilepsy
* An IV catheter put in place: a needle guides a thin plastic tube into an arm vein.
* Getting mangafodipir through the IV.
* 5 MRI scans over a 10-day period: a magnetic field and radio waves take pictures of the brain. Participants lie on a table that slides into a metal cylinder. They are in the cylinder for 45-90 minutes, lying still for up to 10 minutes at a time. The scanner makes loud knocking sounds. Participants will get earplugs.
* A final MRI at least 2 weeks after receiving mangafodipir. Gadolinium is given through an IV catheter....

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Objective:

The primary goals of this pilot study are to (1) describe the safety profile of administration of mangafodipir in patients with epilepsy and (2) investigate the prevalence of blood-brain barrier disruption (BBBD) in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy using peri-ictal manganese enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI) and interictal gadolinium dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) and determine if these methods will allow for visualization of seizure foci. Secondary objectives are further exploration of MEMRI and DCE-MRI properties in patients with epilepsy.

Study population:

40 patients with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Design:

Screening of enrolled participants will include a medical history, physical exam, blood and urine laboratory testing. There are two arms of this study; patients may be enrolled in either arm or both. For one arm, patients will be imaged interictally with a gadolinium enhanced MRI session (DCE-MRI). For the other arm, patients will be imaged peri-ictally with manganese enhanced MRI (MEMRI) as an inpatient during long-term video EEG recording, to ensure administration in the peri-ictal period. Patients will receive a baseline MRI scan, IV mangafodipir injection and will then be serially scanned with non-contrast MRI scans.

Outcome measures:

The primary outcomes are (1) description of the safety profile of mangafodipir administration in patients with epilepsy, and (2) evaluation of the utility of MEMRI and/or DCE-MRI in identifying focal BBBD in the seizure onset zone identified by standard clinical, EEG, and imaging studies, and the homologous contralateral region.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Epilepsy

Keywords

Explore important study keywords that can help with search, categorization, and topic discovery.

MRI Manganese Enhanced MRI Seizure Disorder Seizures Epileptic Focus

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

1

Patients will be given the study drug

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Mangafodipir

Intervention Type DRUG

Patients will be imaged interictally with a gadolinium enhanced MRI session. The administration of mangafodipir will be done as an inpatient during long-term video EEG recording, to ensure administration in the peri-ictal period.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Mangafodipir

Patients will be imaged interictally with a gadolinium enhanced MRI session. The administration of mangafodipir will be done as an inpatient during long-term video EEG recording, to ensure administration in the peri-ictal period.

Intervention Type DRUG

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Age 18-60.
* Able to give written informed consent directly.
* Drug resistant epilepsy participants will be defined as having clinically documented seizures with consistent EEG evidence as defined by the 1981 International Classification of Epileptic Seizures, refractory to standard anti-seizure treatment for at least one year prior to enrolling in this study and with an average of at least one seizure per month. This criterion will be established by preliminary screening NINDS Epilepsy Service under protocol 18-N-0066. Seizure focus localization will be determined by standard clinical, neurophysiologic, and imaging studies. Prior or concurrent enrollment in 18-N-0066 is required.

Exclusion Criteria

General exclusions:

* Patients with epilepsy who are not surgical candidates
* Significant structural brain abnormality such as a brain tumor, stroke, brain damage from head trauma or blood vessel abnormalities, on the baseline MRI scan.
* Positive test for HIV
* Pregnancy or breast-feeding
* Claustrophobia to a degree that the subject would feel uncomfortable in the MRI machine.
* Cannot lie on their back for at least two hours.
* Risk for MRI scan, (e.g., any non-organic implant or other device such as a cardiac pacemaker or infusion pump or other metallic implants, objects or body piercings that cannot be removed, or history of being a welder or metal worker due to small metal fragments in the eye)
* Unwilling to allow sharing and/or use in future studies of coded data that are collected for this study

MEMRI component specific exclusions (applicable only to patients participating in this arm of the study):

* History of post-ictal psychosis or post-ictal aggression
* Planning to get pregnant in the next 2 months
* History of clinically significant liver or kidney disease that could potentially increase the risk of CNS damage due to manganese exposure
* A history of drug or alcohol abuse/dependence (subjects scoring 8 or higher on the AUDIT scale)
* Screening lab abnormalities demonstrating values more than 2 times the upper limit of normal for AST, ALT, bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, BUN, creatinine
* Previous presumed occupational exposure to manganese (i.e., having worked in a mine, foundry, smelter, dry cell battery manufacturing facility, or agriculture)
* Allergy to manganese
* On-going treatment with calcium-channel blocker
* Iron-deficiency anemia
* Personal history of Parkinson s Disease or Parkinsonism or presence of this disease in a 1st degree relative

Gadolinium enhanced MRI component specific exclusions (applicable only to patients participating in this arm of the study):

* Estimated GFR \<60, tested within 1 week of scan
* Allergy to gadolinium

Of note, patients who are ineligible for one arm of the study may still be eligible for and participate in the other arm of the study.
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

NIH

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Sara K Inati, M.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Bethesda, Maryland, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Aaliyah M HamidullahThiam

Role: CONTACT

Phone: (301) 402-7686

Email: [email protected]

Sara K Inati, M.D.

Role: CONTACT

Phone: (301) 435-6269

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

For more information at the NIH Clinical Center contact Office of Patient Recruitment (OPR)

Role: primary

Related Links

Access external resources that provide additional context or updates about the study.

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

150177

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

15-N-0177

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: secondary_id