Epilepsy clinical trials at UCLA

The purpose of this study is to determine whether BHV-7000 is effective in the treatment of refractory focal epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a disabling and lethal neurological disease which affect 3.47 million Americans. Significant health care disparities exist in people with epilepsy (PWE). Hypertension and hyperlipidemia are highly prevalent and often go undertreated, and cardiovascular (CV) mortality is higher in people with epilepsy (PWE) than the general population. Preliminary data from our group shows that PWE have higher ACC-ASCVD risk scores than an age matched NHANES cohort without epilepsy. Preliminary data also demonstrate mortality rates in PWE due to hypertension, stroke, and diabetes are rising in the US, counter to the US general population. This proposal seeks to test the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a new care model for the underserved PWE in a public health setting. In this new model, neurologists guided by standardized treatment algorithms (ACC-ASCVD estimator+) propose and initiate pharmacological interventions for hypertension and hyperlipidemia.

The major goals of the study are to 1) characterize hippocampal activity in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and AD who have suspected hippocampal epileptic activity based on scalp EEG recordings from IRB # 21-001603; 2) study the efficacy of brivaracetam to suppress epileptic activity and pathological high frequency oscilations (pHFOs) during hippocampal depth electrode and scalp EEG in patients with MCI and AD; and 3) investigate the effects of brivaracetam on cognition in an open-label pilot study.

The 24/7 EEG™ SubQ system will be compared to simultaneously recorded video-EEG in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (gold standard) and to self-reported seizure log books throughout 12 weeks of outpatient EEG recording. The present study is a 12-week open-label, prospective study with a paired, comparative design for pivotal evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of the 24/7 EEGTM SubQ system in subjects with temporal lobe epilepsy. 2-5 sites in Europe Up to 5 sites in US, or up to 10 sites if approval granted.

We intend to use focused ultrasound to stimulate or suppress brain activity in patients with epilepsy. We hypothesize that focused ultrasound is capable of brain stimulation or suppression visible with functional MRI, and will not cause tissue damage.

Spatial navigation is a fundamental human behavior, and deficits in navigational functions are among the hallmark symptoms of severe neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Understanding how the human brain processes and encodes spatial information is thus of critical importance for the development of therapies for affected patients. Previous studies have shown that the brain forms neural representations of spatial information, via spatially-tuned activity of single neurons (e.g., place cells, grid cells, or head direction cells), and by the coordinated oscillatory activity of cell populations. The vast majority of these studies have focused on the encoding of self-related spatial information, such as one's own location, orientation, and movements. However, everyday tasks in social settings require the encoding of spatial information not only for oneself, but also for other people in the environment. At present, it is largely unknown how the human brain accomplishes this important function, and how aspects of human cognition may affect these spatial encoding mechanisms. This project therefore aims to elucidate the neural mechanisms that underlie the encoding of spatial information and awareness of others. Specifically, the proposed research plan will determine how human deep brain oscillations and single-neuron activity allow us to keep track of other individuals as they move through our environment. Next, the project will determine whether these spatial encoding mechanisms are specific to the encoding of another person, or whether they can be used more flexibly to support the encoding of moving inanimate objects and even more abstract cognitive functions such as imagined navigation. Finally, the project will determine how spatial information is encoded in more complex real-world scenarios, when multiple information sources (e.g., multiple people) are present. To address these questions, intracranial medial temporal lobe activity will be recorded from two rare participant groups: (1) Participants with permanently implanted depth electrodes for the treatment of focal epilepsy through responsive neurostimulation (RNS), who provide a unique opportunity to record deep brain oscillations during free movement and naturalistic behavior; and (2) hospitalized epilepsy patients with temporarily implanted intracranial electrodes in the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU), from whom joint oscillatory and single-neuron activity can be recorded.

The purpose of the study is to follow patients with partial onset seizures prospectively over 5 years in the real-world environment to gather data on the long-term safety and effectiveness of the RNS System at qualified CECs by qualified neurologists, epileptologists, and neurosurgeons trained on the RNS System.