Thalamic Recordings in Children Undergoing SEEG (TRICS)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Thalamic Recordings in Children Undergoing SEEG (TRICS)
IRAS ID
340512
Contact name
Martin Tisdall
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Epilepsy is a significant problem for children, associated with disabling seizures and problems with learning and memory. A third of these children may continue to have seizures despite optimal treatment with antiseizure medication. A neurosurgical operation, to remove the area causing seizures, forms an important treatment option. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamus is a new treatment that is being developed but we do not yet know which parts of the thalamus are the best targets.
Some children have electrodes inserted into their brains, termed stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG), to identify brain regions that cause the seizures. However, only about 1 in 3 of these children become seizure free following surgical treatment guided by SEEG. During this process, we can insert additional electrodes to better understand how the different parts (nuclei) of the thalamus are involved in seizures and epilepsy. We are also able to stimulate the thalamic nuclei to understand how they are connected to different areas of the brain and simulate the effects that DBS may have on other brain regions, including the epileptogenic areas of the cortex. This would allow us to understand how to choose which nuclei to target for future DBS treatments and what signals we can modify with this DBS, enabling more children to benefit following SEEG.
Apart from adding additional electrodes, our study will not change the pathway for these patients. The decision to undergo SEEG and choice of subsequent treatments will not be influenced by involvement in this study. Stimulation is already part of the clinical workflow, although the range of stimulation will be more rigorous than what is currently performed clinically; however, there is no additional risk from this stimulation protocol. It is possible that, in future, the data may be helpful in planning DBS treatments for these children.
REC name
Wales REC 4
REC reference
24/WA/0282
Date of REC Opinion
1 Nov 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion