NCT00203229

Research Study to Test Safety and Effectiveness of Investigational Drug in Patients With Trigeminal Neuralgia

A Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Add-on Study to Determine the Efficacy and Safety of Lamictal (Lamotrigine) in Patients With Trigeminal Neuralgia (Tic Doloureux)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 20 (actual)
• Sponsor: Thomas Jefferson University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 15 Years – 75 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This research study will look at the safety (e.g., the occurrence of side effects) and efficacy (how well the drug works in reducing trigeminal neuralgia attacks) of a drug called lamotrigine in adults with trigeminal neuralgia.

Detailed description

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, add-on study of lamotrigine in trigeminal neuralgia. Thirty-eight eligible patients with trigeminal neuralgia will be enrolled; nineteen will be randomized to the active medication group and nineteen to the placebo group. Using a daily diary, all patients will document their overall pain level and attack frequency and intensity for four weeks. After the four week baseline period, patients will initiate medication (lamotrigine or placebo). Patients will titrate until either they reach the maximum dose of 400mg per day and up to 700mg for patients on enzyme-inducing anti-epileptic drugs (EIAED's), their side effects inhibit further increases (known as maximum tolerated dose (MTD)), or their trigeminal neuralgia pain resolves (referred to as pain free dose (PFD)) over eight weeks. Patients will remain on a constant dose of prior medications throughout the study. Patients will remain on maximum dose, MTD, or PFD for a maintenance period of at least eight weeks, and at the end of the maintenance period patients who opt to stay on the medication will be unblinded as to medication and dosage. Primary outcome will be average intensity of daily pain.

Conditions

• Trigeminal Neuralgia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DRUG	lamotrigine	The intervention type is 'drug' and this arm is a placebo pill created and supplied by the manufacturers of lamotrigine (Lamictal). This drug is an anti-seizure medication.
DRUG	Placebo	The intervention type is 'drug' and this arm is a placebo pill created and supplied by the manufacturers of lamotrigine (Lamictal) to be exact replicas of the actual drug being studied. The placebo arm is titrated in the exact same manor as the active drug arm.

Timeline

• Start date: 2003-06-01
• Primary completion: 2006-05-01
• Completion: 2006-07-01
• First posted: 2005-09-20
• Last updated: 2014-06-03
• Results posted: 2014-06-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States