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NCT07234695RecruitingPhase 3

LEvetiracetam to Prevent Seizures in Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease in Adults With Down Syndrome

A Phase III, Randomized, Double-blinded Study of the Efficacy and Safety of LEvetiracetam to Prevent Seizures in Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease in Adults With Down Syndrome (the LESS-AD Trial).

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Last updated 12 Jan 2026

Brief summary (registry, in English)

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether levetiracetam can prevent epileptic seizures in patients with Alzheimer's disease associated with Down syndrome. It will also analyze whether it can delay the neurodegeneration associated with this disease. Patients will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group will receive the active drug (levetiracetam), and the other will receive a placebo. Both groups will receive the treatment for 96 weeks. Each patient will participate for a total of 2 years and 5 months.

Status (registry)
Recruiting
Phase (registry)
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
120 (estimated)
First submitted
2 Oct 2025
Start date
22 Dec 2025
Primary completion date
Dec 2027
Lead sponsor
Fundació Institut de Recerca de l'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
NCT number
NCT07234695
EU CT number
2024-516148-24-00

What you commit to

  • Study type: Interventional · Phase 3
  • Planned participants: 120
  • From 22 Dec 2025 to the primary completion date, Dec 2027
  • 5 sites in 1 country
  • Visits and tests: ask the trial team, the registry does not list them

Built from the registry fields of ClinicalTrials.gov. It describes the study, not your situation.

Who cannot take part

Copied verbatim from ClinicalTrials.gov and grouped by topic. Only the trial team decides who can take part.

Prior treatment

  • Previous history of adult-onset epileptic seizures (over 18 years old).
  • Treatment with any kind of antiepileptic drugs, benzodiazepines, narcotics.
  • 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 \[TIAs\]).

Other illness

  • 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).
  • Hypersensitivity to the active ingredient, other pyrrolidone derivatives, or any of the excipients

Lab values

  • 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.

Other

  • Significant comorbidities or analytical abnormalities, such as:
  • 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.
  • Pregnant and breastfeeding patients

Who the study is looking for

  • 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.

Age in the registry: 40 years to - · Sex: All · Does not accept healthy volunteers

Full criteria on ClinicalTrials.gov

Sites (5)

Sites in registry order. Pick your city on the disease page to sort them by distance.

SiteCityCountrySite status
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
BarcelonaSpainRecruiting
Fundacion CITA Alzheimer
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
DonostiaSpainRecruiting
Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
GranadaSpainRecruiting
Hospital Universitario de la Princesa
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
MadridSpainRecruiting
Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla
Coordinator of this site? Confirm its status
SantanderSpainRecruiting

This page is information, not medical advice. Discuss any trial with your doctor.