Cont. of a Study to Evaluate Implanting Peripheral Nerve Grafts Into Subjects With Parkinson's Disease (PD) During DBS (CAPNG)

• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02369003
• Recruitment Status: Active, not recruiting
• First Posted: February 23, 2015
• Last Update Posted: November 16, 2022
• Sponsor: Craig van Horne, MD, PhD
• Information provided by (Responsible Party): Craig van Horne, MD, PhD, University of Kentucky

Study Description

Brief Summary:

This pilot study is designed to follow up on a previous, preliminary study and test the long-term safety and feasibility of the implantation of autologous peripheral nerve grafts into the substantia nigra, basal forebrain, putamen, and/or STN of participants with PD undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Peripheral nerve tissue contains Schwann cells which produce growth factors that have been demonstrated to support the survival and function of neurons.

Participants will serve as their own donor for the tissue, which will be implanted at the time they undergo DBS surgery.

Condition or disease	Intervention/treatment	Phase
Parkinson's Disease	Procedure: Autologous Peripheral Nerve Graft	Phase 1

Detailed Description:

The primary objective of this pilot study is to demonstrate safety of the approach: introducing a minor modification of a standard, FDA approved neurosurgical procedure in use for over a decade to implant autologous peripheral nerve into the central nervous system. As such, the study is designed to pose minimal risk and minimal inconvenience to the subjects. Additionally, the test paradigm is performed strategically to not interfere with the surgery or delivery of the scheduled clinical DBS therapy. The scientific basis for this study is that the implanted peripheral nerve tissue is naturally well suited to provide multiple growth factors that have been shown experimentally to support the survival and function of dopaminergic neurons. Central to this proposal is the hypothesis that the implanted tissue will physiologically deliver growth factors to restore to normal function the afflicted neurons found in PD.

The first specific aim is to assess the feasibility and safety of the combined peripheral nerve graft/DBS surgical procedure. The second specific aim is to evaluate the long term clinical safety of the peripheral nerve implant.

This pilot study will provide safety data that can be used to generate a larger phase III clinical trial. If successful, it would herald the development of a new treatment for PD in which patients are able to provide their own tissue as a source of growth factors that could arrest or reverse the ongoing cellular loss that is responsible for their devastating dysfunction.

Study Design

• Study Type: Interventional (Clinical Trial)
• Actual Enrollment: 70 participants
• Allocation: N/A
• Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)
• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Official Title: Continuation of a Pilot Study to Evaluate the Safety and Feasibility of Implanting Autologous Peripheral Nerve Grafts in Subjects With Parkinson's Disease Undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery and Treatment
• Actual Study Start Date: February 2015
• Estimated Primary Completion Date: September 2027
• Estimated Study Completion Date: September 2027

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/treatment
Experimental: Peripheral Nerve Graft; The intervention includes the surgical implantation of autologous peripheral nerve graft into the substantia nigra, basal forebrain, putamen, and/or STN of participants with Parkinson's Disease that are undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS).	Procedure: Autologous Peripheral Nerve Graft; Implantation of Autologous Peripheral Nerve Graft into the substantia nigra, basal forebrain, putamen, and/or STN of participants with PD undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures :

1. Number of Participants with Adverse Events as a Measure of Safety and Tolerability [ Time Frame: 15 years ]
   Safety and Tolerability of Nerve Graft Implantation. Adverse events will be collected in order to measure the safety and tolerability of the grafting procedure. Adverse events will be documented and compared to the known and reported adverse events of DBS of Subthalamic Nucleus (STN) or internal globus pallidus (GPi).

Secondary Outcome Measures :

1. DaTscan assessment [ Time Frame: 12 or 24 months ]
   Dopamine neurodegeneration at 12 or 24 months will be assessed using DaTscan SPECT imaging and compared to scans obtained before DBS surgery.

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 40 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Sexes Eligible for Study: All
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Undergoing DBS of the STN or GPi
• Between the ages of 40-75
• Able to give informed consent
• Show a positive response to Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa)
• Be able to tolerate the surgical procedure

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any condition that would not make the subject a candidate for DBS of the STN or GPi
• Under the age of 40 or over the age of 75
• Unable to give informed consent
• Female who is pregnant, lactating, or of child-bearing potential unwilling to use an adequate birth control method during the period of the study

Contacts and Locations

Locations

United States, Kentucky

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky, United States, 40536

Sponsors and Collaborators

Craig van Horne, MD, PhD

Investigators

• Principal Investigator: Craig van Horne, MD, PhD; University of Kentucky

More Information

Publications of Results:

Welleford AS, Quintero JE, Seblani NE, Blalock E, Gunewardena S, Shapiro SM, Riordan SM, Huettl P, Guduru Z, Stanford JA, van Horne CG, Gerhardt GA. RNA Sequencing of Human Peripheral Nerve in Response to Injury: Distinctive Analysis of the Nerve Repair Pathways. Cell Transplant. 2020 Jan-Dec;29:963689720926157. doi: 10.1177/0963689720926157.

Quintero JE, Slevin JT, Gurwell JA, McLouth CJ, El Khouli R, Chau MJ, Guduru Z, Gerhardt GA, van Horne CG. Direct delivery of an investigational cell therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease: an interim analysis of feasibility and safety of an open-label study using DBS-Plus clinical trial design. BMJ Neurol Open. 2022 Jul 14;4(2):e000301. doi: 10.1136/bmjno-2022-000301. eCollection 2022.

Gera G, Guduru Z, Yamasaki T, Gurwell JA, Chau MJ, Krotinger A, Schmitt FA, Slevin JT, Gerhardt GA, van Horne C, Quintero JE. Gait and Balance Changes with Investigational Peripheral Nerve Cell Therapy during Deep Brain Stimulation in People with Parkinson's Disease. Brain Sci. 2021 Apr 15;11(4):500. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11040500.

Other Publications:

Slevin JT, Gerhardt GA, Smith CD, Gash DM, Kryscio R, Young B. Improvement of bilateral motor functions in patients with Parkinson disease through the unilateral intraputaminal infusion of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. J Neurosurg. 2005 Feb;102(2):216-22. doi: 10.3171/jns.2005.102.2.0216.

van Horne CG, Vaughan SW, Massari C, Bennett M, Asfahani WS, Quintero JE, Gerhardt GA. Streamlining deep brain stimulation surgery by reversing the staging order. J Neurosurg. 2015 May;122(5):1042-7. doi: 10.3171/2014.9.JNS14619. Epub 2015 Mar 6.

van Horne CG, Quintero JE, Gurwell JA, Wagner RP, Slevin JT, Gerhardt GA. Implantation of autologous peripheral nerve grafts into the substantia nigra of subjects with idiopathic Parkinson's disease treated with bilateral STN DBS: a report of safety and feasibility. J Neurosurg. 2017 Apr;126(4):1140-1147. doi: 10.3171/2016.2.JNS151988. Epub 2016 May 6.

van Horne CG, Quintero JE, Slevin JT, Anderson-Mooney A, Gurwell JA, Welleford AS, Lamm JR, Wagner RP, Gerhardt GA. Peripheral nerve grafts implanted into the substantia nigra in patients with Parkinson's disease during deep brain stimulation surgery: 1-year follow-up study of safety, feasibility, and clinical outcome. J Neurosurg. 2018 Dec 1;129(6):1550-1561. doi: 10.3171/2017.8.JNS163222.

El Seblani N, Welleford AS, Quintero JE, van Horne CG, Gerhardt GA. Invited review: Utilizing peripheral nerve regenerative elements to repair damage in the CNS. J Neurosci Methods. 2020 Apr 1;335:108623. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2020.108623. Epub 2020 Feb 3.

Chau MJ, Quintero JE, Monje PV, Voss SR, Welleford AS, Gerhardt GA, van Horne CG. Using a Transection Paradigm to Enhance the Repair Mechanisms of an Investigational Human Cell Therapy. Cell Transplant. 2022 Jan-Dec;31:9636897221123515. doi: 10.1177/09636897221123515.

• Responsible Party: Craig van Horne, MD, PhD, Principal Investigtator, University of Kentucky
• ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02369003
• Other Study ID Numbers: 14-0729-F6A
• First Posted: February 23, 2015
• Last Update Posted: November 16, 2022
• Last Verified: November 2022

Keywords provided by Craig van Horne, MD, PhD, University of Kentucky:

Deep Brain Stimulation; Schwann Cells

Additional relevant MeSH terms:

Parkinson Disease; Parkinsonian Disorders; Basal Ganglia Diseases; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Movement Disorders; Synucleinopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases