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CompletedNCT00290823Updated Feb 3, 2017

Corticosteroids to Reduce Frequency of Seizures in Neurocysticercosis Patients

A Phase 3 interventional study of Albendazole and Dexamethasone in Neurocysticercosis, sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Completed at 1 site in Peru. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2017-02-03.

Sponsored by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment

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Phase
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
110
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a short course of increased corticosteroid dosing with tapered dosing decreases seizure frequency as compared to standard corticosteroid dosing in patients with neurocysticercosis (NCC).

Read the detailed description

NCC is the most common parasitic infection of the central nervous system (CNS). It is caused by ingestion of eggs from a tapeworm of genus Taenia. Inflammation, seizures, or neurologic problems may occur in a patient with NCC. Corticosteroids are the current standard of care for NCC patients, but corticosteroids have many side effects. Albendazole is used to treat infections caused by worms; however, it is unclear if its use with the corticosteroid dexamethasone will decrease seizure frequency in NCC patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of reducing seizure frequency with a short course of dexamethasone with tapered dosing when given with albendazole, as compared to standard dexamethasone and albendazole treatment, in NCC patients.

In this open label study, patients will be randomly assigned to one of two arms. Group I will receive 6 mg dexamethasone daily for 10 days only. Group II will receive 6 mg dexamethasone daily for 10 days, then 8 mg dexamethasone daily for 4 weeks with a 2-week taper. Both groups will also receive albendazole and omeprazole (a medicine that helps prevent gastroesophageal disease [GERD], a side effect of corticosteroid use). There will be 13 study visits over a 360-day period. Blood collection will occur at most visits. Group II will also undergo sputum smears and rapid culture testing on Days 14, 28, and 42. Patients will undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at screening and on Day 180 and computed tomography (CT) scanning on Day 360.

02

Conditions studied

  • Neurocysticercosis

Keywords

  • Taenia
  • Seizures
  • Tapeworm
  • Parasite
03

In context

Neurocysticercosis

21 studies on the registry are indexed under Neurocysticercosis; 5 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 110 is close to the median of 107 across 13 interventional studies indexed under Neurocysticercosis.

Browse Neurocysticercosis studies →

Lead sponsor

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is the lead sponsor of 2,446 studies on the registry; 179 are open to participants now.

Of its 405 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 302 (75%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosed with intraparenchymal NCC with 20 or fewer active cysts, as confirmed by enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB)
  • Diagnosed with epilepsy secondary to NCC, with history of one or more spontaneous seizures within the 6 months prior to study entry
  • Willingness to be hospitalized for a minimum of 2 weeks for this study
  • PPD negative OR negative smears for tuberculosis (TB) if PPD positive
  • Willing to use acceptable forms of during the study and for at least 1 month after albendazole therapy

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Primary generalized seizures not caused by NCC
  • Subarachnoid or ventricular NCC
  • Any vesicular lesion greater than 2 cm in diameter
  • Previous therapy with albendazole or praziquantel within 2 years of study entry. Patients who have previously received single-dose albendazole for intestinal parasites are not excluded.
  • Intracranial hypertension, as confirmed by CT or MRI
  • History of status epilepticus
  • Focal neurological defects
  • Unstable or consistently abnormal vital signs (e.g., body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, blood pressure)
  • Cysts in critical regions, including brainstem or the eyes
  • Pulmonary TB
  • History of TB in the patient or history of TB in close contact of patient
  • Chest x-ray suggestive of past or current TB
  • Diabetes
  • Systemic conditions (e.g., chronic kidney failure, liver disease, heart failure, -dependent immune diseases) other than NCC that may interfere with the study
  • Predicted survival time of less than 1 year
  • Inability to undergo CT or MRI
  • to albendazole, antiepileptic drugs, or contrast
  • Hypertension at rest
  • Require corticosteroids, received corticosteroids in the 4 weeks prior to study entry, or received corticosteroids for 9 or more days within the 6 months prior to study entry
  • Other CNS processes that may interfere with study assessments
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(3)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

Corticosteroids (steroids)

Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.

Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.

Hypersensitivity

An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
110 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    1

    Participants will receive 6 mg dexamethasone daily for 10 days Participants will also receive albendazole and omeprazole.

    Drug: Albendazole · Drug: Dexamethasone · Drug: Omeprazole

  • Experimental
    2

    Participants will receive 6 mg dexamethasone daily for 10 days, then 8 mg dexamethasone daily for 4 weeks with a 2-week taper. Participants will also receive albendazole and omeprazole.

    Drug: Albendazole · Drug: Dexamethasone · Drug: Omeprazole

Interventions

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Cumulative frequency of partial, generalized, and total seizures

    Time frame: Through Day 42

Secondary outcomes

  1. Cumulative frequency of generalized seizures

    Time frame: Throughout study

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Instituto Especializado en Ciencias Neurologicas
    Lima, Peru
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Del Brutto OH. Neurocysticercosis. Semin Neurol. 2005 Sep;25(3):243-51. doi: 10.1055/s-2005-917661. PubMed 16170737 ↗
  • Garcia HH, Gilman R, Martinez M, Tsang VC, Pilcher JB, Herrera G, Diaz F, Alvarado M, Miranda E. Cysticercosis as a major cause of epilepsy in Peru. The Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru (CWG). Lancet. 1993 Jan 23;341(8839):197-200. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(93)90064-n. PubMed 8093496 ↗
  • Medina MT, Rosas E, Rubio-Donnadieu F, Sotelo J. Neurocysticercosis as the main cause of late-onset epilepsy in Mexico. Arch Intern Med. 1990 Feb;150(2):325-7. PubMed 2302008 ↗
09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Apr 2006, a primary completion of Mar 2011 and a completion of Mar 2011. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Feb 9, 2006
First posted
Feb 13, 2006
Start
Apr 2006
Primary completionActual
Mar 2011
CompletionActual
Mar 2011
Last update
Feb 3, 2017
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 3, 2017, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00290823
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 13, 2006
Start date
Apr 2006
Primary completion
Mar 2011
Completion
Mar 2011
Last update
Feb 3, 2017

Study contacts

Theodore E. Nash, MD
principal investigator · Gastrointestinal Parasites Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIAID
Hector H. Garcia, MD, PhD
study director · Department of Microbiology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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Studies of the drugs tested here: Albendazole · Dexamethasone · Omeprazole

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