Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT03478852

Investigating Epilepsy: Screening and Evaluation

Background:

Epilepsy affects about 1 percent of the U.S. population. Most people with epilepsy respond well to medicine, but some do not. Researchers want people who have diagnosed or suspected epilepsy to participate in ongoing studies. They want to learn more about clinical care for epilepsy. They want fellows and residents to learn more about the care of people with epilepsy.

Objectives:

To learn more about seizures and find ways to best treat people with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Eligibility:

Adults and children ages 8 years and older with diagnosed or suspected epilepsy

Design:

Participants will be screened with:

Physical exam

Medical history

Questionnaires

Participants will have many visits. They may be admitted to the hospital for several weeks. Their medication might be stopped or changed.

Participants will have many tests:

Blood and urine tests

EEG: Wires attached to the head with paste record brain waves. This may be videotaped.

Thinking and memory tests

MRI: Participants lie on a table that slides in and out of a tube. They perform simple tasks in the tube.

MEG: Participants lie on a table and place their head in a helmet to record brain waves.

PET scan: Participants lie on a table that slides into a machine. A small amount of radioactive dye is injected into their arm with an IV. For the IV, a small tube is inserted into the arm with a needle.

Participants will stay enrolled in this study if they join other epilepsy-related studies. They may be contacted at intervals for follow-up. Their participation will end if they have not been seen clinically for their epilepsy for 3 years.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Seizures Brain Diseases Central Nervous System Diseases Epilepsies, Partial Epilepsy Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe Epileptic Syndromes Nervous System Diseases Neurologic Manifestations Partial Epilepsy Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms

Age range

8 year–110 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

National Institutes of Health Clinical Center

Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

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

CONTACT

[email protected]

800-411-1222 ext. TTY8664111010

About this study

Study Description:<TAB>

This protocol is designed to serve as a screening protocol that provides standard evaluation and treatment for patients with epilepsy. Clinical data collected through this protocol will be used in other NIH epilepsy-related research to screen for eligibility in the respective protocols and may also be used for descriptive and/or correlative research through this protocol.

Objectives:

Primary Objective:

Maintain a cohort of patients who are referred to the NIH with a known or suspected diagnosis of epilepsy that can be accessed by other NIH studies to screen for eligibility to participate in ongoing epilepsy-related protocols.

Secondary Objectives:

  • to follow the natural history of subjects with epilepsy and epilepsy and related disorders, and
  • to allow for descriptive and/or correlational studies based on the data collected through clinical care of these patients.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:
  • Age 8 years or older
  • Known or suspected diagnosis of epilepsy
  • Ability to give informed consent or have a legally authorized representative able to give consent (for adults without consent capacity) or parent/guardian able to provide informed consent (for a child)
  • If unable to give informed consent, ability to give verbal assent

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients with unstable medical conditions that, in the opinion of the investigators, makes participation unsafe, or who, in the opinion of the investigators may be unable to comply with the protocol
  • Patients who are unable to travel to the NIH

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. Screening and characterization of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy for epilepsy-related protocols

    Time frame: 5 year period

    to characterization of patients epilepsy to determine their eligibility for inclusion in other epilepsy-related protocols.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Data obtained through clinical care will provide descriptive and/or correlative research

    Time frame: 5 year period

    data obtained through clinical care provided under this protocol in descriptive and/or correlative research in this and other protocols.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Aaliyah M HamidullahThiam

CONTACT

[email protected]

(301) 402-7686

Yasser Tajali, M.D.

CONTACT

[email protected]

(301) 594-9223

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Nih

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2018
Primary completion
2027
Study completion
2027
First posted
Mar 27, 2018
Registry last updated
Jun 3, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.