The FENRTT2 study will investigate the efficacy and safety of a medicinal cannabis plant extract with extremely low THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), NTI164, on Rett syndrome (RTT) in a crossover design. RTT is a devastating rare genetic condition affecting females and involves debilitating physical and intellectual symptoms. NTI164 is an oil which has demonstrated efficacy in reducing symptoms in several paediatric neurological conditions, including RTT, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and paediatric acute-onset neuropsychicatric syndrome (PANS). A Phase I/II clinical trial of NTI164 in RTT (FENRTT1/NTIRTT1) showed NTI164 is safe in this population and significantly improved overall clinical severity of illness, as well as core RTT symptoms, including anxiety, mental alertness, communication skills, socialisation/eye contact, and attentiveness. The FENRTT2 study will investigate NTI164 in a larger number of patients, and compare NTI164 to a placebo control. Research tests on patient blood will also be included to further investigate how NTI164 works in the body.
The FENRTT2 study will investigate the efficacy and safety of a full-spectrum medicinal cannabis plant extract with extremely low THC, NTI164, on Rett syndrome (RTT). This study will be a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study spanning from 28 weeks up t0 52 weeks. RTT is a devastating rare genetic condition affecting females and involves debilitating physical and intellectual symptoms, with inflammation often driving the progression of symptoms. NTI164 is a potently anti-inflammatory oil which has demonstrated efficacy in reducing symptoms in several paediatric neurological conditions, including RTT (Phase I/II), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and paediatric acute-onset neuropsychicatric syndrome (PANS). A Phase I/II clinical trial of NTI164 in RTT (FENRTT1) showed NTI164 is safe in this population and significantly improved overall clinical severity of illness, as well as core RTT symptoms, including anxiety, mental alertness, communication skills, socialisation/eye contact, and attentiveness. The FENRTT2 study will investigate NTI164 in a larger number of patients and will seek to demonstrate superiority over placebo in clinical outcomes in this cohort of patients. Multi-omic analyses on patient blood will also be included to further investigate the mechanism of action of NTI164, including transcriptomics, proteomics, phosphoproteomics, methylation, and cytokine analyses. Functional and clinical benefit will be measured using several validated, gold-standard assessment tools, rated by both clinicians and parents.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE
Enrollment
40
Monash Health
Clayton, Victoria, Australia
Rett Syndrome Behaviour Questionnaire (RSBQ)
A validated, FDA-accepted 45-item caregiver-assessed tool to assess a variety of behavioural features impaired in RTT. The caregiver rates items as 0 = not true, 1 = somewhat true or sometimes true, or 2 = very true. Symptoms assessed include maladaptive behaviours, mood disruption, repetitive movements, fear/anxiety, breathing abnormalities, hand behaviours, and gross motor skills. A higher score indicates greater impairment/disease severity.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
Clinical Global Impression - Severity (CGI-S)
7-point scale rating a clinician's impression of disease severity at a given time point, a higher score indicates more severe illness.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
Clinical Global Impression - Improvement (CGI-I)
A clinician-rated tool to assess how much an individual's symptoms improve or worsen following an intervention on a 7-point scale. 1-3 = improvement, 4 = no change, 5-7 = worsening. It is anticipated the CGI-I score will be \<4 following NTI164 treatment, indicating moderate-substantial improvement.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
RTT-Domain- specific Concerns - Visual Analog Scale (RTT-DSC-VAS)
An 8-point scale assessing areas of functional impairment (0 = normal function, 7 = most severe impairment).
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
Impact of Childhood Neurologic Disability scale + Quality of Life (ICND + QoL)
Rates the effect of 4 health problems (inattentiveness, impulsivity, or mood; ability to think and remember; neurologic or physical limitations; epilepsy) on 11 aspects of the child and/or family's life (overall health, relationships with parents, relationships with siblings, relationship between your spouse/partner, relationships with child's friends/peers, social life - acceptability by others, social life - number of activities, school - academics, child's self-esteem, loss of original hopes for child/self, and family activities. A higher score indicates a lower level of disability. QoL component rates the QoL of the patient on a 6-point scale (1 = poor, 6 = excellent).
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
RTT-Caregiver Burden Inventory (RTT-CBI)
Assesses 4 aspects of burden (physical, emotional, and social burden, and time dependence) on the primary caregiver of the patient. Subdomains include general caregiver tasks, emotional and social impact of caregiving, and financial burden. A higher score indicates greater impairment and caregiver burden.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
EQ-5D-Y-5L
A descriptive scale covering 5 dimensions of health (mobility, looking after myself, doing usual activities, having pain or discomfort, and feeling worried, sad, or unhappy). This version of the scale has 5 levels to each answer (5L) and is worded so as to be more child friendly (Y). A higher score indicates greater impairment/worse health status.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
CSBS-DP-IT
A caregiver rated scale often used as the first step in routine screening to determine if a developmental evaluation is needed. In the context of RTT, it can be used to assess functional communication. A higher score indicates a better communication ability.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 12, and Week 28
Michael C Fahey
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