LCTC to collaborate on a new NIHR funded neurological trial
LCTC has been awarded funding to collaborate on a new large NIHR funded trial in the prevention and treatment of seizures.
Continuing our strengths in clinical neuroscience research LCTC has been awarded funding to collaborate on a new large NIHR funded trials in the prevention of seizures.
Seizures affect people’s quality of life in many ways and lead to uncertainty about the future. They cause anxiety and social stigma, affect activities of daily living, cause a loss of independence, including loss of driving license, and can threaten life.
STOP EM
Surgeons Trial Of Prophylaxis for Epilepsy in seizure naïve patients with Meningioma: a randomised controlled trial
STOP EM is a study aiming to help adults diagnosed with a meningioma brain tumour that needs surgical removal and who have not had a seizure beforehand. We want to know whether a short course of an anti-epileptic drug (AED) started 1 day before surgery will prevent seizures happening after surgery.
Meningiomas are the most common type of primary brain tumour. They grow from the lining of the brain. Most meningiomas are non-malignant, can be removed with surgery and do not regrow. In the UK each year, about 1600 people with a meningioma have surgery. Approximately 70% of people with meningiomas do not present with epileptic seizures, but following surgical removal around 12% will have a seizure within the first 12 months.
In patients who have never had a seizure, neurosurgeons don’t know whether giving an AED before surgery (known as prophylaxis) will prevent seizures. In the UK and internationally, some neurosurgeons use prophylaxis and others do not. Previous studies have not shown conclusive results and were done using older drugs with worse side effects.
The study will run for about 6 years and is funded by the NIHR HTA. The Chief Investigator, Professor Michael Jenkinson, Sir John Fisher Foundation / RCS Chair of Surgical Trials at the University of Liverpool, said “this is a really important study for our patients having surgery for their meningioma and should definitively answer the question about seizure prevention that will impact on clinical practice in the UK and worldwide.
