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Epilepsy clinical trials at University of California Health

48 in progress, 19 open to eligible people

Showing trials for
  • Soticlestat as an Add-on Therapy in Children and Adults With Dravet Syndrome or Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome

    open to eligible people ages 2-56

    The main aim of the study is to learn if soticlestat, when given as an add-on therapy, reduces the number of seizures in children and adults with Dravet Syndrome (DS) or Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS). Participants will receive their standard anti-seizure therapy, plus tablets of soticlestat. There will be scheduled visits and follow-up phone calls throughout the study.

    at UCLA UCSF

  • Lacosamide in Neonates With Repeated Electroencephalographic Neonatal Seizures

    open to all eligible people

    The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of lacosamide (LCM) versus an Active Comparator chosen based on standard of care (StOC) in severe and nonsevere seizure burden (defined as total minutes of electroencephalographic neonatal seizures (ENS) per hour) in neonates with seizures that are not adequately controlled with previous anti-epileptic drug (AED) treatment.

    at UCLA

  • Pharmacodynamics Of Satralizumab In Patients With Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartic Acid Receptor (NMDAR) Or Anti-Leucine-Rich Glioma-Inactivated 1 (LGI1) Encephalitis

    open to eligible people ages 12 years and up

    The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of satralizumab in participants with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAR) and anti-leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1) encephalitis.

    at UCSF

  • Adjunctive GNX Treatment Compared With Placebo in Children and Adults With TSC-related Epilepsy

    open to eligible people ages 1-65

    This is a Phase 3, global, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of adjunctive GNX treatment in children and adults with TSC-related epilepsy. The study consists of a 4-week prospective Baseline phase, defined as the first 28 days following screening, followed by a double-blind phase consisting of a 4-week titration period (Day 1 to Day 28) and a 12-week maintenance period (Day 29 to Week 16).

    at UCLA

  • Adjunctive Cannabidiol Oral Solution (GWP42003-P) in Children With Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), Dravet Syndrome (DS), or Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) Who Experience Inadequately-controlled Seizures

    open to eligible people ages 1 month to 23 months

    This study will be conducted to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), and efficacy of adjunctive GWP42003-P in participants < 2 years of age with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), or Dravet syndrome (DS).

    at UCLA

  • EPX-100 (Clemizole Hydrochloride) as Add-on Therapy to Control Convulsive Seizures in Patients With Dravet Syndrome

    open to eligible people ages 2 years and up

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of EPX-100 as adjunctive therapy in children and adult participants with Dravet Syndrome.

    at UCSF

  • FIH Study of NRTX-1001 Neural Cell Therapy in Drug-Resistant Unilateral Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

    open to eligible people ages 18-65

    This clinical trial is designed to test whether a single stereotactic intracerebral administration of inhibitory nerve cells into subjects with drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy is safe (frequency of adverse events) and effective (seizure frequency).

    at UC Davis UCLA UCSD UCSF

  • Imaging of Neuro-Inflammation and the Risk for Post-Traumatic Epilepsy

    open to eligible people ages 18-100

    This study plans to evaluate the time course of inflammation in the brain after a moderate to severe traumatic brain injury using positron emission tomography (PET) brain imaging. Patients will undergo PET scans of the brain at two weeks and two months after injury to measure neuro-inflammation. The results of the PET scans will be analyzed and correlated with the risk of post-traumatic epilepsy.

    at UC Davis

  • Medtronic Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) Therapy for Epilepsy Post-Approval Study (EPAS)

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    The purpose of this post-approval study is to further evaluate the long-term safety and effectiveness of Medtronic DBS therapy for epilepsy on seizure reduction in newly implanted participants through 3 years of follow-up.

    at UCLA UCSF

  • Model-based Electrical Brain Stimulation

    open to eligible people ages 18 years and up

    Neuropsychiatric disorders are a leading cause of disability worldwide with depressive disorders being one of the most disabling among them. Also, millions of patients do not respond to current medications or psychotherapy, which makes it critical to find an alternative therapy. Applying electrical stimulation at various brain targets has shown promise but there is a critical need to improve efficacy. Given inter- and intra-subject variabilities in neuropsychiatric disorders, this study aims to enable personalizing the stimulation therapy via i) tracking a patient's own symptoms based on their neural activity, and ii) a model of how their neural activity responds to stimulation therapy. The study will develop the modeling elements needed to realize a model-based personalized closed-loop system for electrical brain stimulation to achieve this aim. The study will provide proof-of-concept demonstration in epilepsy patients who already have intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) electrodes implanted for their standard clinical monitoring unrelated to this study, and who consent to being part of the study.

    at UCSF

  • LP352 in Subjects With Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy

    open to eligible people ages 12-65

    The objective of this study is to assess the long-term safety, tolerability, and efficacy of adjunctive therapy of LP352 in subjects with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies who completed participation in Study LP352-201.

    at UCSF

  • RNS System LGS Feasibility Study

    open to eligible people ages 12 years and up

    To generate preliminary safety and effectiveness data for brain-responsive neurostimulation of thalamocortical networks as an adjunctive therapy in reducing the frequency of generalized seizures in individuals 12 years of age or older with Lennox Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) who are refractory to antiseizure medications. The intent is to determine the feasibility and the optimal design of a subsequent pivotal study in order to expand the indication for use for the RNS System as a treatment for patients with medically intractable LGS.

    at UCSF

  • Cenobamate in Pediatric Subjects 2-17 Years of Age With Partial-onset (Focal) Seizures

    open to eligible people ages 2-18

    Primary objective: To evaluate the safety and tolerability of cenobamate in pediatric subjects 2-17 years of age with partial-onset (focal) seizures

    at UC Davis

  • Stopping TSC Onset and Progression 2B: Sirolimus TSC Epilepsy Prevention Study

    open to eligible people ages up to 6 months

    This trial is a Phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled multi-site study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of early sirolimus to prevent or delay seizure onset in TSC infants. This study is supported by research funding from the Office of Orphan Products Division (OOPD) of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

    at UCLA

  • NBI-921352 as Adjunctive Therapy in Subjects With SCN8A Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy Syndrome (SCN8A-DEE)

    open to eligible people ages 2-21

    The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of NBI-921352 as adjunctive therapy for seizures in subjects with SCN8A Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy Syndrome (SCN8A-DEE).

    at UCSF

  • Understanding Prefrontal and Medial Temporal Neuronal Responses to Algorithmic Cognitive Variables in Epilepsy Patients

    open to eligible people ages 10-64

    Humans have a remarkable ability to flexibly interact with the environment. A compelling demonstration of this cognitive flexibility is human's ability to respond correctly to novel contextual situations on the first attempt, without prior rehearsal. The investigators refer to this ability as 'ad hoc self-programming': 'ad hoc' because these new behavioral repertoires are cobbled together on the fly, based on immediate demand, and then discarded when no longer necessary; 'self-programming' because the brain has to configure itself appropriately based on task demands and some combination of prior experience and/or instruction. The overall goal of our research effort is to understand the neurophysiological and computational basis for ad hoc self-programmed behavior. The previous U01 project (NS 108923) focused on how these programs of action are initially created. The results thus far have revealed tantalizing notions of how the brain represents these programs and navigates through the programs. In this proposal, therefore, the investigators focus on the question of how these mental programs are executed. Based on the preliminary findings and critical conceptual work, the investigators propose that the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) creates representations of the critical elements of these mental programs, including concepts such as 'rules' and 'locations', to allow for effective navigation through the algorithm. These data suggest the existence of an 'algorithmic state space' represented in medial temporal and prefrontal regions. This proposal aims to understand the neurophysiological underpinnings of this algorithmic state space in humans. By studying humans, the investigators will profit from our species' powerful capacity for generalization to understand how such state spaces are constructed. The investigators therefore leverage the unique opportunities available in human neuroscience research to record from single cells and population-level signals, as well as to use intracranial stimulation for causal testing, to address this challenging problem. In Aim 1 the investigators study the basic representations of algorithmic state space using a novel behavioral task that requires the immediate formation of unique plans of action. Aim 2 directly compares representations of algorithmic state space to that of physical space by juxtaposing balanced versions of spatial and algorithmic tasks in a virtual reality (VR) environment. Finally, in Aim 3, the investigators test hypotheses regarding interactions between vPFC and MTL using intracranial stimulation.

    at UCLA

  • Human Epilepsy Project 3

    open to eligible people ages 13 years and up

    By carrying a careful, large-scale and ambitious prospective study of a cohort of participants with generalized epilepsy, the study team hopes to clarify the likelihood of response and remission in this type of epilepsy, and try to explore the underlying biological drivers of treatment response, including novel realms of exploration such as impact of the microbiome, and genetics. The identification of biomarkers that predict the likelihood of disease response would allow epilepsy patients to make more informed decisions about the factors affecting their quality of life, including plans for driving, relationships, pregnancy, schooling, work, and play. In addition to its impact on clinical care, the data and specimens collected in HEP3, including sequential electrophysiology, biochemical profiles and neuroimaging and banked DNA for future genomics studies, have the potential to provide new insights into the biological basis of IGE, thereby advancing the discovery of effective treatments and cures. By enrolling both newly diagnosed subjects (prognosis unknown) as well as subjects with established IGE who are already determined to be treatment resistant or treatment responsive, the study team can immediately test potential biomarkers in a confirmation cohort, which will accelerate identification of predictive biomarkers.

    at UCSF

  • Neonatal Seizure Registry - Developmental Functional EValuation

    open to eligible people ages 2-8

    The NSR-DEV study is a longitudinal cohort study of around 280 Neonatal Seizure Registry participants that aims to evaluate childhood outcomes after acute symptomatic neonatal seizures, as well as examine risk factors for developmental disabilities and whether these are modified by parent well-being.

    at UCSF

  • Neonatal Seizure Registry, GEnetics of Post-Neonatal Epilepsy

    open to all eligible people

    The NSR-GENE study is a longitudinal cohort study of approximately 300 parent-child trios from the Neonatal Seizure Registry and participating site outpatient clinics that aims to evaluate whether and how genes alter the risk of post-neonatal epilepsy among children with acute provoked neonatal seizures. The researchers aim to develop prediction rules to stratify neonates into low, medium, and high risk for post-neonatal epilepsy based on clinical, electroencephalogram (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and genetic risk factors.

    at UCSF

  • ETX101 in Infants and Children With SCN1A-Positive Dravet Syndrome

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    ENDEAVOR is a Phase 1/2, 2-part, multicenter study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ETX101 in participants with SCN1A-positive Dravet syndrome aged 6 to <36 months. Part 1 follows an open-label, dose-escalation design, and Part 2 is a randomized, double-blind, sham delayed-treatment control, dose-selection study.

    at UCSF

  • Therapy In Status Epilepticus

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

    This study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of an investigational product (IP), intravenous (IV) ganaxolone, to treat participants with status epilepticus (SE).

    at UCLA

  • Lorcaserin as Adjunctive Treatment in Participants With Dravet Syndrome

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

    The primary purpose of the study is to demonstrate that lorcaserin has superior efficacy compared to placebo on percent change in frequency of convulsive seizures per 28 days in participants with Dravet syndrome.

    at UCLA UCSD

  • Soticlestat as an Add-on Therapy in Children and Young Adults With Dravet Syndrome

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The main aim of the study is to learn if soticlestat, when given as an add-on therapy, reduces the number of convulsive seizures in children and young adults with DS. Participants will receive their standard antiseizure therapy, plus either a tablet of soticlestat or placebo for 16 weeks. A placebo looks just like soticlestat but will not have any medicine in it. Participants may continue treatment in an extension study, based on the extension study's entry criteria. Those that want to stop treatment will have a gradual dose reduction during 1 week and then be followed up for 2 weeks.

    at UCLA UCSF

  • Soticlestat in Adults and Children With Rare Epilepsies

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The main aim is to assess the long-term safety and tolerability of soticlestat when used along with other anti-seizure treatment. Participants will receive soticlestat twice a day. Participants will visit the study clinic every 2-6 months throughout the study. Study treatments may continue as long as the participant is receiving benefit from it.

    at UCLA

  • Determine if BHV-7000 is Effective and Safe in Adults With Refractory Focal Onset Epilepsy

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

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

    at UCSD

  • Perampanel Administered as an Adjunctive Therapy in Pediatric Participants With Childhood Epilepsy

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

    The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of perampanel as measured by the 50 percent (%) responder rate during the maintenance period of the core study for seizure frequency in participants with pediatric epileptic syndrome (Cohort 1) and partial-onset seizures (POS) (Cohort 2).

    at UCLA

  • Long-Term Safety of ZX008 (Fenfluramine Hydrochloride) Oral Solution in Children and Adults With Epileptic Encephalopathy Including Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    This is an international, multicenter, open-label, long-term safety study of ZX008 in subjects with Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or epileptic encephalopathy

    at UCLA

  • STK-001 for Patients With Dravet Syndrome

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    Stoke Therapeutics is evaluating the long-term safety & tolerability of repeated doses of STK-001 in patients with Dravet syndrome who previously participated in studies of STK-001. Change in seizure frequency and overall clinical status, and quality of life will be measured as secondary endpoints in this open-label study.

    at UCSF

  • Single and Multiple Ascending Doses in Children and Adolescents With Dravet Syndrome

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    Stoke Therapeutics is evaluating the safety and tolerability of single and multiple ascending doses of STK-001 in patients with Dravet syndrome. Change in seizure frequency, overall clinical status, and quality of life will be measured as secondary endpoints in this open-label study.

    at UCSF

  • Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in Epilepsy

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    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.

    at UCLA

  • Cenobamate Open-Label Extension Study for YKP3089C025

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    52 Week Open-Label Safety Study of Cenobamate for Subjects who Complete YKP3089C025 (core study)

    at UCSD

  • Epileptic Hippocampus in Alzheimer's Disease

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    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.

    at UCLA

  • 24/7 EEG SubQ System for Ultra Long-Term Recording of Patients With Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

    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.

    at UCLA

  • Evaluate How Safe and Tolerable NBI-921352 is as an Adjunctive Therapy for Participants With SCN8A-DEE

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    Extension study to evaluate how safe and tolerable the drug NBI-921352 is when used as adjunctive therapy in participants with SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy syndrome (SCN8A-DEE).

    at UCSF

  • Functional Organization of the Superior Temporal Gyrus for Speech Perception

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The basic mechanisms underlying comprehension of spoken language are still largely unknown. Over the past decade, the study team has gained new insights to how the human brain extracts the most fundamental linguistic elements (consonants and vowels) from a complex and highly variable acoustic signal. However, the next set of questions await pertaining to the sequencing of those auditory elements and how they are integrated with other features, such as, the amplitude envelope of speech. Further investigation of the cortical representation of speech sounds can likely shed light on these fundamental questions. Previous research has implicated the superior temporal cortex in the processing of speech sounds, but little is known about how these sounds are linked together into the perceptual experience of words and continuous speech. The overall goal is to determine how the brain extracts linguistic elements from a complex acoustic speech signal towards better understanding and remediating human language disorders.

    at UCSF

  • Healthy Aging in People With Epilepsy Program

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    The goal of this clinical trial is to develop and test an educational program about dementia in older adults living with epilepsy. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Can providing education on healthy aging, chronic disease management, dementia, and modifiable lifestyle dementia risk factors improve dementia knowledge and health literacy among older adults with epilepsy? 2. Can aging related education and resources improve quality of life among older adults with epilepsy? Participants will: - Complete a 12-week group educational program. - Complete pre- and post-program evaluation.

    at UCSD

  • Low-intensity Focused Ultrasound Pulsation (LIFUP) for Treatment of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    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.

    at UCLA

  • Neural Mechanisms for Stopping Ongoing Speech Production

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    Speech and communication disorders often result in aberrant control of the timing of speech production, such as making improper stops at places where they should not be. During normal speech, the ability to stop when necessary is important for maintaining turn-taking in a smooth conversation. Existing studies have largely investigated neural circuits that support the preparation and generation of speech sounds. It is believed that activity in the prefrontal and premotor cortical areas facilitates high-level speech control and activity in the ventral part of the sensorimotor cortex controls the articulator (e.g. lip, jaw, tongue) movements. However, little is known about the neural mechanism controlling a sudden and voluntary stop of speech. Traditional view attributes this to a disengagement of motor signals while recent evidence suggested there may be an inhibitory control mechanism. This gap in knowledge limits our understanding of disorders like stuttering and aphasia, where deficits in speech timing control are among the common symptoms. The overall goal of this study is to determine how the brain controls the stopping of ongoing speech production to deepen our understanding of speech and communication in normal and impaired conditions.

    at UCSF

  • Neural Mechanisms of Spatial Representations Beyond the Self

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    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.

    at UCLA

  • Adjunctive GNX Treatment in Children and Adults With TSC-related Epilepsy

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    This is a Phase 3, global, open-label extension (OLE) study of adjunctive GNX treatment in children and adults with TSC who previously participated in either Study 1042-TSC-3001 or Study 1042-TSC-2001

    at UCLA

  • Sleep Architecture & Intrinsic Oscillatory and Network Connectivity in Cognition and Executive Dysfunction in TLE

    Sorry, not yet accepting patients

    Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) patients and healthy controls will undergo a night of sleep at the UC Davis Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) to characterize sleep architecture. A subset of TLE patients will be randomly assigned to an Acoustic Stimulation (AS) or SHAM stimulation night and return at least 7 days later for the other condition. Cognitive tests will be conducted 90 minutes prior to sleep (learning and immediate recall) and again 1 hour after awakening for 120 minutes (delayed recall and attention), while monitoring neural networks using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

    at UC Davis

  • Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Human Emotion Network

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The overall goal of this study is to elucidate how emotion network dynamics relate to the behavioral, autonomic, and experiential changes that accompany emotions and to investigate how emotion network dysfunction relates to affective symptoms. Affective symptoms are a common feature of neuropsychiatric disorders that reflect dysfunction in a distributed brain network that supports emotion. How aberrant functioning in a single emotion network underlies a wide range of affective symptoms, such as depression and anxiety, is not well understood. Anchored by the anterior cingulate cortex and ventral anterior insula, the emotion network responds to numerous affective stimuli. The recording of neural activity directly from the cortical surface from individuals is a promising approach since intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) can provide direct estimates of neuronal populations to map the spatiotemporal dynamics of the emotion network at a millisecond level resolution. This study will exam how activity within emotion network hubs changes during emotions and how emotion network properties make some individuals more vulnerable to affective symptoms than others. A multidisciplinary approach is critical for understanding the dynamic brain network to advance neuroanatomical models of emotions and for guiding the development of novel treatments for affective symptoms.

    at UCSF

  • Neural Coding of Speech Across Human Languages

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The overall goal of this study is to reveal the fundamental neural mechanisms that underlie comprehension across human spoken languages. An understanding of how speech is coded in the brain has significant implications for the development of new diagnostic and rehabilitative strategies for language disorders (e.g. aphasia, dyslexia, autism, et alia). The basic mechanisms underlying comprehension of spoken language are unknown. Researchers are only beginning to understand how the human brain extracts the most fundamental linguistic elements (consonants and vowels) from a complex and highly variable acoustic signal. Traditional theories have posited a 'universal' phonetic inventory shared by all humans, but this has been challenged by other newer theories that each language has its own unique and specialized code. An investigation of the cortical representation of speech sounds across languages can likely shed light on this fundamental question. Previous research has implicated the superior temporal cortex in the processing of speech sounds. Most of this work has been entirely carried out in English. The recording of neural activity directly from the cortical surface from individuals with different language experience is a promising approach since it can provide both high spatial and temporal resolution. This study will examine the mechanisms of phonetic encoding, by utilizing neurophysiological recordings obtained during neurosurgical procedures. High-density electrode arrays, advanced signal processing, and direct electrocortical stimulation will be utilized to unravel both local and population encoding of speech sounds in the lateral temporal cortex. This study will also examine the neural encoding of speech in patients who are monolingual and bilingual in Mandarin, Spanish, and English, the most common spoken languages worldwide, and feature important contrastive differences of pitch, formant, and temporal envelope. A cross-linguistic approach is critical for a true understanding of language, while also striving to achieve a broader approach of diversity and inclusion in neuroscience of language.

    at UCSF

  • Treatment of Refractory Infantile Spasms With Fenfluramine

    Sorry, not currently recruiting here

    This is a phase II clinical trial in which children with refractory infantile spasms (also called epileptic spasms or West syndrome) will be treated with fenfluramine, to evaluate efficacy, safety, and tolerability. Patients with infantile spasms that have not responded to treatment with vigabatrin and ACTH we will be invited to participate. Study participants will undergo baseline video-EEG, receive treatment with fenfluramine for 21 days, and then undergo repeat video-EEG to determine effectiveness. Patients with favorable response will have the opportunity to continue treatment for up to 6 months.

    at UCLA

  • Role of Inflammation in Neonatal Epileptogenesis

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    The purpose of this study evaluate the relationship between inflammation and epilepsy in neonates with seizures after birth.

    at UCSF

  • RNS® System Epilepsy PAS

    Sorry, in progress, not accepting new patients

    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.

    at UC Irvine UCLA UCSF

  • Transforming Research and Clinical Knowledge in Traumatic Brain Injury Epileptogenesis Project (TRACK-TBI EPI)

    Sorry, accepting new patients by invitation only

    The overarching goal of this study is to improve understanding of the long-range natural history of TBI and post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) by extending follow-up of a previously enrolled cohort (TRACK-TBI) beyond the first 12 months after injury.

    at UCSF

  • Treatment of Dravet Syndrome With Fenfluramine (Expanded Access Protocol)

    Sorry, not accepting new patients

    The purpose of this research study is to (1) provide access to fenfluramine for patients with intractable epilepsy associated with Dravet syndrome, and (2) evaluate the safety of fenfluramine.

    at UCLA

Our lead scientists for Epilepsy research studies include .

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