Hope for down syndrome: drug may stop Alzheimer's seizures
NCT ID NCT07234695
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests if the drug levetiracetam can prevent epileptic seizures in 120 adults over 40 with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Participants will receive either the drug or a placebo for 96 weeks. The goal is to see if the drug can stop seizures and possibly slow brain decline.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Dec 2025
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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40 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosed with Down Syndrome (DS), either with a karyotype or a compatible typical phenotype. * Age over 40 years at time of screening. * Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease (AD) dementia, based on change in functionality and neuropsychological tests' results. Different cut-off points will be established to diagnose dementia depending on the level of intellectual disability of the individual, according to previous experience (Benejam et al; 2020): in adults with mild intellectual disability, a CAMCOG-DS score of 80 and an mCRT score of 29 will be chosen, whereas values of 56 and 28, respectively, will be used in subjects with moderate intellectual disability. Doubtful cases (e.g., with compromised functionality, but without alteration in the neuropsychological assessment) or those unable to complete the evaluation will be categorized by consensus among expert clinicians, using all available clinical information. * Willing and able caregiver who has daily contact with the study subject. * Subjects and caregivers must be able to comply with the prescribed regimen of study treatment throughout the course of the study and meet a minimum required time commitment of biannual in-person visits. * Any concurrent treatment for AD approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) must be stable for at least 30 days prior to screening and at least 60 days prior to study day 1. Other medications (except for those listed under exclusion criteria) are allowed as long as the dose is stable for 30 days prior to screening. * Subjects and/or their caregivers must be able to provide their consent before participating in any study-related procedures. Exclusion Criteria: * Cognitive changes attributable to causes other than AD (for example, but not limited to, uncorrected visual or hearing deficit, severe, untreated sleep apnea or uncontrolled thyroid disorders). * Previous history of adult-onset epileptic seizures (over 18 years old). * Treatment with any kind of antiepileptic drugs, benzodiazepines, narcotics. * Significant comorbidities or analytical abnormalities, such as: * Any unstable and/or clinically significant medical condition likely to hamper the evaluation of safety and/or efficacy of the study (eg, moderate and/or severe untreated obstructive sleep apnea, clinically significant reduction in serum B12 or folate levels, clinically significant abnormalities of thyroid function, stroke, or other cerebrovascular conditions), as per investigator's judgement. * Severe renal dysfunction (creatinine clearance \< 30 mL/min), which would affect serum levetiracetam levels, or any other medical condition which is determined by the investigators to potentially create an undue risk for an adverse effect. * Concomitant or past history psychiatric or neurologic disorder other than those considered to be related to AD (eg, head injury with loss of consciousness, symptomatic stroke, Parkinson's disease, severe carotid occlusive disease, transient ischemic attacks \[TIAs\]). * Significant risk of suicide, defined using the C-SSRS as the subject answering "yes" to suicidal ideation questions 4 or 5 or answering "yes" to suicidal behavior within the past 12 months. * Deviations from normal values for hematologic parameters, liver function tests, and other biochemical measures, judged to be clinically significant by the investigator. * Participation in another clinical trial within 3 months of screening. * Hypersensitivity to the active ingredient, other pyrrolidone derivatives, or any of the excipients * Pregnant and breastfeeding patients
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
5 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Fundación CITA Alzheimer
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGDonostia / San Sebastian, Basque Country, 20009, Spain
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Hospital La Princesa
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGMadrid, 28006, Spain
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Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSantander, Cantabria, 39008, Spain
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Hospital Virgen de las Nieves
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGGranada, Andalusia, 18014, Spain
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Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
RECRUITINGBarcelona, Catalonia, 08041, Spain
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