Comparing Self-Fitting Strategies in the Lexie Powered by Bose Hearing Aids
Hearing LossMore than 1.5 billion people around the world experience hearing loss, of whom at least 430 million experience disabling hearing loss that will require rehabilitation. The majority of people have mild to moderate hearing loss and can benefit from hearing aids. However, hearing aid adoption around the world has been low, with global hearing aid coverage being less than 11%. This is partly due to limited access to hearing healthcare services and the high cost of hearing devices. However, there have been significant efforts to improve access to hearing healthcare services. This includes rapid advances in hearing aids and new service-delivery models leading to more affordable and accessible options such as Over-the-Counter (OTC) hearing aids. On the 17th of October 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) established a regulatory category for OTC hearing aids. The final rule allows consumers with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment to purchase hearing aids directly from stores or online retailers without the need for a medical exam, prescription or a fitting by an audiologist. The FDA defined two sub-categories for OTC hearing aids, namely 1) OTC hearing aids with standardized output profiles (i.e., pre-set programs) and 2) self-fitting OTC hearing aids which allow users to program their hearing aids with a self-fitting strategy and also customize their hearing aid settings according to their needs and preferences. Sabin et al. (2020) was the first study to validate a self-fitting method using the Bose prototype hearing aid. This self-fitting method allowed users to select their own signal processing parameters using a mobile application consisting of two wheels that simultaneously control the gain and compression of all frequency bands. Sabin et al. (2020) evaluated the real-world performance of this approach by comparing gain, sound quality and clinical measures of hearing aid benefit and satisfaction between a group using the self-fitting method and a group that was professionally fitted with the same hearing aid. The gain selected by the self-fit group was within 1.8 dB overall and 5.6 dB per band compared to the gain selected by the audiologist. Participants in the self-fit group reported better sound quality, and there were no differences in clinical measures of hearing aid benefit or satisfaction. Although a number of studies have compared self-fitting OTC devices to conventional hearing aids fitted by hearing healthcare professionals, no study has compared different self-fitting strategies in the same OTC device. Therefore, this study aims to compare the existing self-fitting strategy of the Lexie Powered by Bose hearing aids (i.e., direct adjustment) to a recently validated in-situ audiometry fitting strategy. The in-situ audiometry fitting strategy consists of in-situ thresholds measurements conducted at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz through the hearing aids, which will be used with a proprietary fitting algorithm that is based on National Acoustics Laboratories' Non-Linear Version 2 (NAL-NL2) to self-program the hearing aids.
A Dose Escalation Study of Levetiracetam in the Treatment of Neonatal Seizures
Neonatal SeizureNeonatal Encephalopathy2 moreThe main purpose of this study is to determine the maximum safe tolerated dose of LEV in the treatment of neonatal seizures. Our hypothesis is that optimal dosing of Levetiracetam (LEV) to treat neonatal seizures is significantly greater than 60mg/kg. This study will be an open label dose-escalation, preliminary safety and efficacy study. There will be a randomized control treatment component. Infants recognized as having neonatal seizures or as being at risk of developing seizures will be recruited and started on continuous video EEG monitoring (CEEG). Eligibility will be confirmed and consent will be obtained. In the first 2 phases of the study, neurologists will identify neonates with mild-moderate seizure burden (less than 8 minutes cumulative seizure activity per hour), appropriate for study with LEV, and exclude patients with higher seizure burden where treatment with PHB is more appropriate. Phase 3 of the dose escalation will only proceed if additional efficacy of LEV has been demonstrated in phases 1 and 2. In Phase 3 we will recruit neonates with seizures of greater severity up to 30 minute seizure burden/hour. This will make the final results of study more generalizable. If seizures are confirmed, enrolled subjects will receive 60mg/kg of LEV. Subjects whose seizures persist or recur 15 minutes after the first infusion is complete, subjects will then be randomized in the dose escalation study. Patients in the dose escalation study will be randomly assigned to receive either higher dose LEV or treatment with the control drug PHB in a 3:1 allocation ratio, stratified by site. Funding Source- FDA OOPD
A Randomized Study of XEN1101 Versus Placebo in Focal-Onset Seizures (X-TOLE3)
Focal Onset SeizuresThe X-TOLE3 Phase 3 clinical trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that will evaluate the clinical efficacy, safety and tolerability of XEN1101 administered as adjunctive therapy in focal-onset seizures.
Effects of Recorded Music on Clinical and EEG Seizure Activity
EpilepsyThis research is being done to determine if Mozart music and/or age-appropriate music can reduce the frequency of seizures and epileptiform discharges.
A Pilot Study: Focused Ultrasound Thalamotomy for the Prevention of Secondary Generalization in...
Partial Seizures With Secondary GeneralizationThe purpose of this study is to assess the safety and feasibility of Magnetic Resonance Imaging-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) in patients with epilepsy whose medicines are not working well. The ExAblate transcranial system is the name of the device that will be used to create and send ultrasound waves through the scalp and skull precisely to a small structure located in the center of the brain. This structure is known as the "Anterior Nucleus", and is an important region in the brain that may cause the seizures. Safety will be measured by recording and analyzing any adverse effects that may occur from the day of the experimental surgery through 12 months following the surgery.
Randomized, Double-Blind Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of Cenobamate Adjunctive Therapy...
Primary Generalized EpilepsyThis trial is intended to study the safety and effectiveness of an new anti-epileptic drug (AED) on Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic (PGTC) Seizures. Eligible Subjects, adults and adolescents, will continue to take their usual AEDs and receive either cenobamate or placebo. Subjects will have a 50% chance or receiving cenobamate or placebo (sugar pill). Subjects will initially receive 12.5 mg of cenobamate or placebo (study drug) and increase the dose every two weeks until they reach a target dose of 200 mg. Subjects will take study drug at approximately the same time in the morning (once a day) with or without food. If tolerability issues arise, dosing can be changed to evening. Also, once a subject reaches 200 mg, the dose can be decreased one time to 150 mg, if necessary. The treatment period is 22 weeks and there is a 3 week follow up period, which includes a one week decrease in study drug to 100 mg prior to stopping. The adolescent subjects will follow the same regimen in an oral suspension adolescent equivalent dose based on weight. Subjects who complete may be eligible for an extension study and will not have to complete the follow up period. Subjects will track their seizure types and frequency in a diary throughout the study.
RNS System RESPONSE Study
EpilepsyPartial Seizure3 moreTo demonstrate that the RNS System is safe and effective as an adjunctive therapy in individuals age 12 through 17 years with medically refractory partial onset epilepsy.
Pediatric Dose Optimization for Seizures in Emergency Medical Services
SeizuresThe Pediatric Dose Optimization for Seizures in Emergency Medical Services (PediDOSE) study is designed to improve how paramedics treat seizures in children on ambulances. Seizures are one of the most common reasons why people call an ambulance for a child, and paramedics typically administer midazolam to stop the seizure. One-third of children with active seizures on ambulances arrive at emergency departments still seizing. Prior research suggests that seizures on ambulances continue due to under-dosing and delayed delivery of medication. Under-dosing happens when calculation errors occur, and delayed medication delivery occurs due to the time required for dose calculation and placement of an intravenous line to give the medication. Seizures stop quickly when standardized medication doses are given as a muscular injection or a nasal spray. This research has primarily been done in adults, and evidence is needed to determine if this is effective and safe in children. PediDOSE optimizes how paramedics choose the midazolam dose by eliminating calculations and making the dose age-based. This study involves changing the seizure treatment protocols for ambulance services in 20 different cities, in a staggered and randomly-assigned manner. One aim of PediDOSE is to determine if using age to select one of four standardized doses of midazolam and giving it as a muscular injection or nasal spray is more effective than the current calculation-based method, as measured by the number of children arriving at emergency departments still seizing. The investigators believe that a standardized seizure protocol with age-based doses is more effective than current practice. Another aim of PediDOSE is to determine if a standardized seizure protocol with age-based doses is just as safe as current practice, since either ongoing seizures or receiving too much midazolam can interfere with breathing. The investigators believe that a standardized seizure protocol with age-based doses is just as safe as current practice, since the seizures may stop faster and these doses are safely used in children in other healthcare settings. If this study demonstrates that standardized, age-based midazolam dosing is equally safe and more effective in comparison to current practice, the potential impact of this study is a shift in the treatment of pediatric seizures that can be easily implemented in ambulance services across the United States and in other parts of the world.
Safety and Tolerability Study of SPN-817 in Adult Patients With Treatment Resistant Epilepsy
EpilepsySeizures1 moreThis study will evaluate the safety and tolerability of SPN-817 in adults with treatment resistant seizures
Pharmacokinetics Study of Oral 2-Deoxy-D-Glucose (2DG) in Subjects With a Confirmed Diagnosis of...
Epilepsy; SeizureThis project studies how 2-deoxy-glucose (2DG) pills are absorbed and distributed in people with epilepsy. 2DG is similar to glucose, the main energy source for the brain, but it cannot be used as energy. During seizures, neurons are at a very high metabolic state with huge glucose metabolism as glycolysis is accelerated to supply the high metabolic needs of a seizure. 2DG is taken up by cells but cannot be metabolized by the first enzyme in the glycolytic pathway, thus is stops, or "clogs up", glycolysis. Since brain metabolism is almost entirely dependent on glucose as an energy source, glycolysis is arrested and may stop seizures. It is hoped that 2DG will stop seizures by interfering with the brain's energy use. This is an open-label phase 2 study of the pharmacokinetics (PK), safety, and tolerability of 2DG administered orally to adult epilepsy patients. A 3-level 2DG dose escalation is planned in sequential cohorts of 3 subjects in each cohort with review of each cohort before proceeding to the next cohort. On the day of oral 2DG exposure, subjects will receive a single dose of 40 mg in the first cohort, a single dose of 60 mg in the second cohort, and two 60 mg doses (60 mg bid) in the third cohort. After 3 subjects have completed dosing at Dose Level 1 (40 mg/day), the safety and PK results will be reviewed. The Study Committee will determine if the next cohort should be enrolled at Dose Level 2 (60 mg/day). The same procedure will be repeated to determine if the next cohort should be enrolled at Dose Level 3 (60 mg bid = 120 mg/day). If the Study Committee determines that the most recent dose is not tolerated or that there are significant adverse events, the subsequent Dose Level will not be enrolled. A standard time-concentration curve will be constructed from the 2DG levels obtained from the PK blood draws. Parameters will be calculated for: time to maximum concentration (tmax), maximum concentration (Cmax), elimination rate, half-life (t1/2), AUC, and derived parameters. Statistical analysis will not be performed because of the small n, but this will nevertheless establish the PK profile of 2DG in people with epilepsy. The most important parameter will be the AUC which determines drug exposure.