NCT03547050

Rolandic Epilepsy Genomewide Association International Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 210 (actual)
• Sponsor: King's College London · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 6 Years – 25 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

We have discovered a small change in the genetic code which increases the risk of the brainwave abnormality that is found in rolandic epilepsy. We now wish to confirm this using a second much larger sample of patients. We will investigate the other genetic changes that cause people with the brainwave abnormality to develop seizures, as well as problems with speech, coordination, attention and learning.

Detailed description

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder affecting 1% of the population. There are over 30 types of epilepsy, some common, some rare. Most epilepsies arise in childhood and have a genetic cause. Approximately 25% of child patients have "Rolandic Epilepsy" or RE, also known as Benign Epilepsy with Centrotemporal Spikes (BECTS). RE has a complex genetic basis, probably made up of combinations of susceptibility variants in different genes. Children with RE quite often have other symptoms that affect their speech, attention, reading ability or coordination. The goal of this study is to find the genetic basis for susceptibility to seizures and associated comorbidities for RE using genomewide association approaches. We know that RE has a genetic basis and we recently discovered the genetic cause of the EEG pattern seen in RE. The goal of REGAIN is to now find the genetic basis for susceptibility to seizures and the associated symptoms above. Our hope is to be able to improve diagnosis and understand why each child with RE is different, and perhaps point us towards new treatments that are more effective and have fewer side effects. We will compare the genetic code of 3,000 children with RE against a similar number of people not affected by epilepsy. With the proposed large sample of participants, we will be able to pinpoint the exact changes that might lead to seizures or attention problems for example. Learning the genetic basis for these problems will deepen our understanding of the mechanisms and lead to new treatments or cures.

Conditions

• Rolandic Epilepsy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Blood draw	Participation includes one visit for one blood draw per recruited patient. 10-20ml peripheral venous blood will be taken from the antecubital fossa. The DNA from the blood sample will then be extracted and resequenced for analysis.
OTHER	Existing samples	Control DNA samples will be used that have been previously acquired in other studies.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-06-01
• Primary completion: 2023-03-17
• Completion: 2023-06-30
• First posted: 2018-06-06
• Last updated: 2023-10-06

Locations

13 sites across 7 countries: United States, Argentina, Canada, Greece, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom