A randomized, controlled, double-blind, crossover trial of triheptanoin in alternating hemiplegia of childhood

Elodie Hainque, Samantha Caillet, Sandrine Leroy, Constance Flamand-Roze, Isaac Adanyeguh, Fanny Charbonnier-Beaupel, Maryvonne Retail, Benjamin Le Toullec, Mariana Atencio, Sophie Rivaud-Péchoux, Vanessa Brochard, Florence Habarou, Chris Ottolenghi, Florence Cormier, Aurélie Méneret, Marta Ruiz, Mohamed Doulazmi, Anne Roubergue, Jean-Christophe Corvol, Marie Vidailhet, Fanny Mochel, Emmanuel Roze

Based on the hypothesis of a brain energy deficit, we investigated the safety and efficacy of triheptanoin on paroxysmal episodes in patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood due to ATP1A3 mutations. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of triheptanoin, at a target dose corresponding to 30% of daily calorie intake, in ten patients with alternating hemiplegia of childhood due to ATP1A3 mutations. Each treatment period consisted of a 12-week fixed-dose phase, separated by a 4-week washout period. The primary outcome was the total number of paroxysmal events. Secondary outcomes included the number of paroxysmal motor-epileptic events; a composite score taking into account the number, severity and duration of paroxysmal events; interictal neurological manifestations; the clinical global impression-improvement scale (CGI-I); and safety parameters. The paired non-parametric Wilcoxon test was used to analyze treatment effects. In an intention-to-treat analysis, triheptanoin failed to reduce the total number of paroxysmal events (p = 0.646), including motor-epileptic events (p = 0.585), or the composite score (p = 0.059). CGI-I score did not differ between triheptanoin and placebo periods. Triheptanoin was well tolerated. Triheptanoin does not prevent paroxysmal events in Alternating hemiplegia of childhood. We show the feasibility of a randomized placebo-controlled trial in this setting. The study has been registered with clinicaltrials.gov ( NCT002408354 ) the 03/24/2015.