Protective Role of Oxcarbazepine in Multiple Sclerosis
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2018-01-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) have nerve loss even without acute inflammatory relapses,
as obvious in the progressive phase of disease. Drugs that may prevent nerve loss work better
in earlier stages when it is difficult to measure progressive disability. But it is now
possible to measure the nerve loss as neurofilament light (NFL) in the cerebrospinal fluid
(CSF). This is a trial of a neuroprotective drug, oxcarbazepine, which showed benefit in an
animal model of multiple sclerosis. The investigators will use an innovative outcome, a
reduction in the content of NFL in the CSF, as well as the usual clinical disability and
imaging methods, to measure the success of the oxcarbazepine as a neuroprotective agent in
MS. The use of NFL, a surrogate marker of neurodegeneration, allows a blinded and accurate
outcome.
Phase:
Phase 2
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Queen Mary University of London
Collaborators:
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust Barts & The London NHS Trust Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust National Multiple Sclerosis Society Novartis Pharmaceuticals Royal Free Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Southend University Hospital St George's Healthcare NHS Trust University College, London