Enhanced MRI Imaging in Healthy Participants and Participants With Epilepsy

NCT ID: NCT06483061

Last Updated: 2025-05-06

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

PHASE2

Total Enrollment

50 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-05-01

Study Completion Date

2029-09-01

Brief Summary

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

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a common type of epilepsy and one of the most likely to not be controlled by medication. For patients who do not respond to medication, surgery can result in a cure of seizures. Given the fact that around 50% of patients who undergo surgery are seizure free at 10 years there is a need to improve the understanding of what factors best predict surgical outcomes in order to improve our ability to select candidates for surgery.

The demonstration of abnormalities in the temporal lobe on MRI is one of the best predictors of seizure free surgical outcomes. Recent studies suggest that changes in specific subregions of the hippocampus could be the strongest predictors of surgical success, however the small size of these regions, (millimeters) make them very difficult to study with standard clinical MRI.

Recently new MRI methods have been developed at Wayne State University to image hippocampal blood vessels using ferumoxytol infusion. Feraheme (ferumoxytol) is a drug that is approved in the United States for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia and is currently being studied as an MRI contrast agent in 8 active clinical trials in the United States as well as a Parkinson's Disease study in Canada.

Detailed Description

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

Hippocampal sclerosis is the most common pathological finding in temporal lobe epilepsy.

While CA1 and CA4 subregions are typically affected, considerable variability in the involvement of the different subregions has been recognized between patients with specific hippocampal subfield pathology being demonstrated to predict surgical outcomes in medically refractory patients. Developing novel imaging biomarkers for hippocampal subfield pathology that can be obtained in vivo has the potential to allow more accurate prediction of surgical outcomes prior to surgery.

A major challenge in studying hippocampal subregions is the small size of the structures which are often smaller than the resolution of conventional MRI techniques. Cerebral blood vessels can be visualized with MRI using a variety of methods, some which do not require MRI contrast and others that do. The advantage of non-contrast methods is that subjects do not require intravenous contrast injections while the disadvantage is that the non-contrast methods are not capable of visualizing smaller vessels.

Recently high-resolution vascular imaging of the hippocampus using ferumoxytol as an MRI contrast agent has been reported by researchers at Wayne State University. It is believed that this method would provide the detail required to address the hypothesis that the microvasculature of hippocampal subregions is disrupted in temporal lobe epilepsy.

OBJECTIVES

The Specific Aims of this study are:

Aim 1: Implement ferumoxytol enhanced MRI imaging of cerebral vasculature with similar quality as compared to work conducted at Wayne State University. Aim 2: Compare hippocampal microvasculature density of hippocampal subregions between participants with TLE and hippocampal sclerosis and control subjects.

HYPOTHESES

1. Successful acquisition of susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) vascular imaging, with similar quality as compared to work conducted at Wayne State University, will be possible.
2. Participants with temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis will demonstrate reduced microvasculature in hippocampal subfields that will correlate with previously reported regional MRI changes.

METHODS /DATA ANALYSIS

AIM 1:

10 control subjects will be scanned using the Wayne State University SWI acquisition protocol. Participants will receive ferumoxytol diluted with normal saline administered by a Registered Nurse using an MRI compatible IV infusion pump. Any adverse events during the infusion / scan will be documented and compared to previous ferumoxytol MRI safety data. Data quality will be assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Maps of the hippocampal microvasculature will be obtained and reviewed in order to confirm that the quality of the maps is comparable to the Wayne State University data. Fractional vessel density (FVD) of microvasculature, major arteries and major veins will be obtained, and comparisons will be made to ensure that the mean values and standard deviations are comparable.

AIM 2:

20 control subjects, and 20 participants with temporal lobe epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis, will be studied. Participants will receive ferumoxytol diluted with normal saline administered by a Registered Nurse using a MRI compatible IV infusion pump. Any adverse events will be documented.

Microvasculature density of hippocampal subregions will be evaluated based on the same image analysis approach as the Wayne State University Group.

Conditions

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

Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe

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

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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

Ferumoxytol (Feraheme)

Each participant and control will receive Ferumoxytol (Feraheme) 4 mg/kg diluted with 60ml normal saline, administered at 150-200ml/Hr by a registered nurse using a MRI compatible IV infusion pump

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Ferumoxytol

Intervention Type DRUG

Ferumoxytol will be injected to enhance MRI images

Interventions

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

Ferumoxytol

Ferumoxytol will be injected to enhance MRI images

Intervention Type DRUG

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Feraheme

Eligibility Criteria

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

Inclusion Criteria

* Healthy controls aged 18-64.
* Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy aged 18-64 and hippocampal sclerosis demonstrated on clinical MRI scan

Exclusion Criteria

* Non-English speaking participants will be excluded as we cannot provide translation services.
* Inability to provide informed consent.
* Contraindications to MRI Age \< 17 years / \>65 years
* Weight \> 127.5kg (which is the maximum weight of which a single 510mg vial of Ferumoxytol would accommodate a 4mg/kg dose).
* Women of childbearing capacity with a positive pregnancy test
* Women who are actively breast feeding
* Contraindication of Ferumoxytol -known hypersensitivity to Feraheme or any of its components -History of allergic reaction to any intravenous iron product
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

64 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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

Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Alberta

OTHER

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.

Donald Gross, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Alberta

Locations

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

Peter S. Allen MRI Unit

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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

Canada

Central Contacts

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

Sandy Arcand

Role: CONTACT

7809109585

Facility Contacts

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

Sandy Arcand

Role: primary

7809109585

References

Explore related publications, articles, or registry entries linked to this study.

Finn JP, Nguyen KL, Hu P. Ferumoxytol vs. Gadolinium agents for contrast-enhanced MRI: Thoughts on evolving indications, risks, and benefits. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2017 Sep;46(3):919-923. doi: 10.1002/jmri.25580. Epub 2017 Feb 3. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28160356 (View on PubMed)

Vasanawala SS, Nguyen KL, Hope MD, Bridges MD, Hope TA, Reeder SB, Bashir MR. Safety and technique of ferumoxytol administration for MRI. Magn Reson Med. 2016 May;75(5):2107-11. doi: 10.1002/mrm.26151. Epub 2016 Feb 18.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 26890830 (View on PubMed)

Adams LC, Jayapal P, Ramasamy SK, Morakote W, Yeom K, Baratto L, Daldrup-Link HE. Ferumoxytol-Enhanced MRI in Children and Young Adults: State of the Art. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2023 Apr;220(4):590-603. doi: 10.2214/AJR.22.28453. Epub 2022 Oct 5.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36197052 (View on PubMed)

Toth GB, Varallyay CG, Horvath A, Bashir MR, Choyke PL, Daldrup-Link HE, Dosa E, Finn JP, Gahramanov S, Harisinghani M, Macdougall I, Neuwelt A, Vasanawala SS, Ambady P, Barajas R, Cetas JS, Ciporen J, DeLoughery TJ, Doolittle ND, Fu R, Grinstead J, Guimaraes AR, Hamilton BE, Li X, McConnell HL, Muldoon LL, Nesbit G, Netto JP, Petterson D, Rooney WD, Schwartz D, Szidonya L, Neuwelt EA. Current and potential imaging applications of ferumoxytol for magnetic resonance imaging. Kidney Int. 2017 Jul;92(1):47-66. doi: 10.1016/j.kint.2016.12.037. Epub 2017 Apr 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28434822 (View on PubMed)

Nguyen KL, Yoshida T, Kathuria-Prakash N, Zaki IH, Varallyay CG, Semple SI, Saouaf R, Rigsby CK, Stoumpos S, Whitehead KK, Griffin LM, Saloner D, Hope MD, Prince MR, Fogel MA, Schiebler ML, Roditi GH, Radjenovic A, Newby DE, Neuwelt EA, Bashir MR, Hu P, Finn JP. Multicenter Safety and Practice for Off-Label Diagnostic Use of Ferumoxytol in MRI. Radiology. 2019 Dec;293(3):554-564. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2019190477. Epub 2019 Oct 22.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31638489 (View on PubMed)

Buch S, Chen Y, Jella P, Ge Y, Haacke EM. Vascular mapping of the human hippocampus using Ferumoxytol-enhanced MRI. Neuroimage. 2022 Apr 15;250:118957. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.118957. Epub 2022 Feb 2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 35122968 (View on PubMed)

Treit S, Little G, Steve T, Nowacki T, Schmitt L, Wheatley BM, Beaulieu C, Gross DW. Regional hippocampal diffusion abnormalities associated with subfield-specific pathology in temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia Open. 2019 Sep 13;4(4):544-554. doi: 10.1002/epi4.12357. eCollection 2019 Dec.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31819910 (View on PubMed)

Adel SAA, Treit S, Abd Wahab W, Little G, Schmitt L, Wilman AH, Beaulieu C, Gross DW. Longitudinal hippocampal diffusion-weighted imaging and T2 relaxometry demonstrate regional abnormalities which are stable and predict subfield pathology in temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia Open. 2023 Mar;8(1):100-112. doi: 10.1002/epi4.12679. Epub 2022 Dec 11.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 36461649 (View on PubMed)

Blumcke I, Pauli E, Clusmann H, Schramm J, Becker A, Elger C, Merschhemke M, Meencke HJ, Lehmann T, von Deimling A, Scheiwe C, Zentner J, Volk B, Romstock J, Stefan H, Hildebrandt M. A new clinico-pathological classification system for mesial temporal sclerosis. Acta Neuropathol. 2007 Mar;113(3):235-44. doi: 10.1007/s00401-006-0187-0. Epub 2007 Jan 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17221203 (View on PubMed)

Blumcke I, Thom M, Aronica E, Armstrong DD, Bartolomei F, Bernasconi A, Bernasconi N, Bien CG, Cendes F, Coras R, Cross JH, Jacques TS, Kahane P, Mathern GW, Miyata H, Moshe SL, Oz B, Ozkara C, Perucca E, Sisodiya S, Wiebe S, Spreafico R. International consensus classification of hippocampal sclerosis in temporal lobe epilepsy: a Task Force report from the ILAE Commission on Diagnostic Methods. Epilepsia. 2013 Jul;54(7):1315-29. doi: 10.1111/epi.12220. Epub 2013 May 20.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23692496 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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

Pro00132487

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.