ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT05297695Updated Jan 29, 2024

Helicobacter Pylori Eradication Therapy for Epileptic Children

A Phase 2/3 interventional study of Triple therapy for H. pylori infection in Epilepsy, Generalized and Helicobacter Pylori Infection, sponsored by Sohag University. Completed at 1 site in Egypt. Open to participants aged 4 Years to 18 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-01-29.

Sponsored by Sohag University · Phase 2/3, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 2/3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
126
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
4 Years to 18 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is associated with several health problems. The role of H. pylori infection in epilepsy has been investigated in a few studies. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no previous studies on the effect of treating H. pylori infection on seizure frequency among children with drug-resistant idiopathic generalized epilepsy. This study aims to evaluate the effect of treating H. pylori infection on seizure frequency among children with drug-resistant idiopathic generalized epilepsy.

Read the detailed description

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a spiral-shaped Gram-negative bacterium, which causes chronic infection in more than 50% of human population. H. pylori infection is associated with several gastrointestinal disorders, such as gastritis and gastric/duodenal ulcers. Moreover, accumulating body of evidence indicates the possible role of H. Pylori infection in extraintestinal health problems, such as iron deficiency anemia, immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), numerous dermatological diseases, Alzheimer disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. This condition affects 0.5% to 1% of all children and is associated with neurobiological, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences. Seizures can usually be controlled by anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) in up to two-thirds of children with epilepsy. However, this leaves a significant part of epileptic children whose seizures are not controlled by pharmacotherapy.

The development of epilepsy is highly complex and can be attributed to multiple etiologies classified into structural (e.g., malformation, trauma, ischemia), genetic, infectious, metabolic, and immune factors. However, the etiology remains unknown in about half of epileptic children. Idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGE) constitute about one-third of all epilepsies. Efforts to explore new possible mechanisms contributing to the development of epilepsy, particularly drug-resistant IGE, could contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies to improve patients' outcomes.

The role of H. pylori infection in epilepsy has been investigated in a few studies, some of which reported that the seroprevalence of H. pylori infection is significantly higher in patients with idiopathic epilepsy compared with patients with other chronic diseases, and that H. pylori infection is associated with poor prognosis.

Potential H. pylori-induced epileptic effects are probably immune-mediated that can be attributed to a cross-mimicry mechanism between H. pylori and human cellular phospholipids with production of autoimmune antibodies (e.g., anti-cardiolipin) and H. pylori infection-related activation of pro-inflammatory cells with systemic release of proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6, 8 and TNF- α) which are involved in disruption of the blood-brain barrier and neuroinflammation.

To the best of our knowledge, there have been no previous studies on the effect of treating H. pylori infection on seizure frequency among children with drug-resistant IGE. This study aims to evaluate the effect of treating H. pylori infection on seizure frequency among children with drug-resistant IGE.

02

Conditions studied

  • Epilepsy, Generalized
  • Helicobacter Pylori Infection

Keywords

  • Children
  • Epilepsy
  • Helicobacter pylori
  • Treatment
  • Seizure
03

In context

Epilepsy, Generalized

39 studies on the registry are indexed under Epilepsy, Generalized; 4 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 126 is above the median of 75 across 25 interventional studies indexed under Epilepsy, Generalized.

Browse Epilepsy, Generalized studies →

Lead sponsor

Sohag University is the lead sponsor of 1,230 studies on the registry; 636 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
4 Years to 18 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

  • Age between 4 and 18 years.
  • Idiopathic generalized epilepsies (IGE), including childhood absence epilepsy, juvenile absence epilepsy, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, or IGE with generalized tonic-clonic seizures only (IGE-TCS).
  • Drug-resistant epilepsy, defined as failure of adequate trials of two tolerated and appropriately chosen and used anti-epileptic drugs schedules (whether as monotherapies or in combination) to achieve sustained seizure freedom
  • Positive H. pylori stool antigen (HpSA) test (at initial screening).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Failure to obtain .
  • Presence of a medical indication for treating H. pylori infection, including gastric or duodenal ulcer, chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura, and iron deficiency anemia.
  • Known allergy or to any of the study drugs.
  • Treatment with antibiotics and/or proton pump inhibitors in the last 2 months.
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.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Relapsed and refractory

Relapsed: the illness came back after treatment had worked. Refractory: it did not respond to treatment, or stopped responding while still on it.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

05

Study design

Phase
Phase 2 / Phase 3
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
126 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Study group

    Children with drug-resistant idiopathic generalized epilepsy and positive H. pylori stool antigen test who will receive H. pylori eradication therapy.

    Drug: Triple therapy for H. pylori infection

  • No intervention
    Control group

    Children with drug-resistant idiopathic generalized epilepsy and positive H. pylori stool antigen test who will not receive H. pylori eradication therapy.

Interventions

  • DrugTriple therapy for H. pylori infection

    Triple therapy for H. pylori infection (Esomeprazole, Amoxicillin, and Clarithromycin) for two weeks

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Seizure improvement

    ≥ 50% seizure frequency reduction compared with baseline

    Time frame: 2.5 months following H. pylori eradication therapy

Secondary outcomes

  1. Need for escalation of antiepileptic drugs

    Need for escalation of antiepileptic drugs compared with baseline

    Time frame: 2.5 months following H. pylori eradication therapy

  2. Occurrence of status epilepticus

    Time frame: 2.5 months following H. pylori eradication therapy

  3. Occurrence of adverse effects of H. pylori eradication therapy

    Time frame: 2.5 months following H. pylori eradication therapy

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Sohag University Hospital
    Sohag, 82524, Egypt
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Korotkaya Y, Shores D. Helicobacter pylori in Pediatric Patients. Pediatr Rev. 2020 Nov;41(11):585-592. doi: 10.1542/pir.2019-0048. PubMed 33139411 ↗
  • Fine A, Wirrell EC. Seizures in Children. Pediatr Rev. 2020 Jul;41(7):321-347. doi: 10.1542/pir.2019-0134. PubMed 32611798 ↗
  • Scheffer IE, Berkovic S, Capovilla G, Connolly MB, French J, Guilhoto L, Hirsch E, Jain S, Mathern GW, Moshe SL, Nordli DR, Perucca E, Tomson T, Wiebe S, Zhang YH, Zuberi SM. ILAE classification of the epilepsies: Position paper of the ILAE Commission for Classification and Terminology. Epilepsia. 2017 Apr;58(4):512-521. doi: 10.1111/epi.13709. Epub 2017 Mar 8. PubMed 28276062 ↗
  • Fisher RS, Acevedo C, Arzimanoglou A, Bogacz A, Cross JH, Elger CE, Engel J Jr, Forsgren L, French JA, Glynn M, Hesdorffer DC, Lee BI, Mathern GW, Moshe SL, Perucca E, Scheffer IE, Tomson T, Watanabe M, Wiebe S. ILAE official report: a practical clinical definition of epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2014 Apr;55(4):475-82. doi: 10.1111/epi.12550. Epub 2014 Apr 14. PubMed 24730690 ↗
  • Yao G, Wang P, Luo XD, Yu TM, Harris RA, Zhang XM. Meta-analysis of association between Helicobacter pylori infection and multiple sclerosis. Neurosci Lett. 2016 May 4;620:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2016.03.037. Epub 2016 Mar 23. PubMed 27033666 ↗
  • Okuda M, Miyashiro E, Nakazawa T, Minami K, Koike M. Helicobacter pylori infection and idiopathic epilepsy. Am J Med. 2004 Feb 1;116(3):209-10. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2003.05.005. No abstract available. PubMed 14749171 ↗
  • Ozturk A, Ozturk CE, Ozdemirli B, Yucel M, Bahcebasi T. Helicobacter pylori infection in epileptic patients. Seizure. 2007 Mar;16(2):147-52. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2006.10.015. Epub 2006 Nov 27. PubMed 17126040 ↗
  • Kwan P, Arzimanoglou A, Berg AT, Brodie MJ, Allen Hauser W, Mathern G, Moshe SL, Perucca E, Wiebe S, French J. Definition of drug resistant epilepsy: consensus proposal by the ad hoc Task Force of the ILAE Commission on Therapeutic Strategies. Epilepsia. 2010 Jun;51(6):1069-77. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2009.02397.x. Epub 2009 Nov 3. Erratum In: Epilepsia. 2010 Sep;51(9):1922. PubMed 19889013 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes

Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan

Time frame: After publication of the study

Access criteria: Data will be available for researchers upon reasonable request

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jan 29, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05297695
Lead sponsor
Sohag University
Responsible party
Mena Samy Basily (Principal Investigator, Sohag University) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 28, 2022
Start date
Apr 20, 2022
Primary completion
Oct 10, 2023
Completion
Dec 30, 2023
Last update
Jan 29, 2024

Study contacts

Montaser M Mohamed, MD, PhD
study chair · Sohag University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jan 2024. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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