Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30564495›Full record

ArticleNeurology. Clinical practice2018

Everolimus for treatment-refractory seizures in TSC: Extension of a randomized controlled trial.

David N Franz, John A Lawson, Zuhal Yapici, Hiroko Ikeda, Tilman Polster, Rima Nabbout, Paolo Curatolo, Petrus J de Vries, Dennis J Dlugos, Maurizio Voi and 4 more

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurology. Clinical practice, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
53citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
8.5field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

53 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Rapamycin and rapalogs for tuberous sclerosis complex.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Cell-Intrinsic Regulation of Epilepsy-Associated Pathology by mTORC1 and mTORC2.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Insights into Tuberous Sclerosis Complex : From Genes to Clinics.Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society · 2025
    Article
  12. Review
  13. Article
  14. Developmental and epileptic encephalopathies.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2024
    Review
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Further advances in epilepsy.Journal of neurology · 2023
    Review
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors at 8 institutions in 6 countries.

David N FranzDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
John A LawsonDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Zuhal YapiciDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Hiroko IkedaDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Tilman PolsterDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Rima NabboutDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Paolo CuratoloDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Petrus J de VriesDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Dennis J DlugosDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Maurizio VoiDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Jenna FanDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Alexandra VauryDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Diana PelovDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
Jacqueline A FrenchDepartment of Neurology (DNF), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH; Tuberous Sclerosis Multidisciplinary Management Clinic (JAL), Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia; Division of Child Neurology (ZY), Department of Neurology, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Turkey; NHO Epilepsy Center (HI), Shizuoka Institute of Epilepsy and Neurological Disorders, Japan; Paediatric Epileptology (TP), Mara Hospital, Bethel Epilepsy Center, Germany; Reference Centre for Rare Epilepsies (RN), Hospital Necker-Enfants Malades, Paris Descartes University, France; Tor Vergata University Hospital (PC), Rome, Italy; Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PJdV), University of Cape Town, South Africa; Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics (DJD), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (MV, JF, DP), East Hanover, NJ; Novartis Pharmaceuticals SAS (AV), Rueil-Malmaison, France; and NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (JAF), New York.
National Epilepsy Center · JPNovartis (France) · FRUniversité Paris Cité · FRIstanbul University · TRChildren's Hospital of Philadelphia · USCincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center · USSydney Children's Hospital · AUUniversity of Cape Town · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEXamining everolimus In a Study of Tuberous sclerosis 3 (EXIST-3) demonstrated significantly reduced seizure frequency (SF) with everolimus vs placebo. In this study, we evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of everolimus for tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)-associated treatment-refractory seizures.

methodsAfter completion of the core phase, patients could enter an open-label extension phase and receive everolimus (target exposure, 3-15 ng/mL) for ≥48 weeks. Efficacy end points included change from baseline in average weekly SF expressed as response rate (RR, ≥50% reduction) and median percentage reduction (PR).

resultsOf 366 patients, 361 received everolimus in core/extension phases. The RR was 31% (95% CI, 26.2-36.1; N = 352) at week 18, 46.6% (95% CI, 40.9-52.5; N = 298) at 1 year, and 57.7% (95% CI, 49.7-65.4; N = 163) at 2 years. Median PR in SF was 31.7% (95% CI, 28.5-36.1) at week 18, 46.7% (95% CI, 40.2-54) at 1 year, and 56.9% (95% CI, 50-68.4) at 2 years. Ninety-five patients (26.3%) discontinued everolimus before 2 years; 103 (28.5%) had <2 years of follow-up at study cutoff, and 40% were exposed to everolimus for ≥2 years. An analysis classifying discontinued patients as nonresponders showed an RR of 30.2% (95% CI, 25.5-35.2; N = 361) at week 18, 38.8% (95% CI, 33.7-44.1; N = 358) at 1 year, and 41% (95% CI, 34.6-47.7; N = 229) at 2 years, suggesting sustained benefit over time. The incidence of grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) (any cause) was 40.2%, and 13% discontinued because of AEs (pneumonia [1.7%] and stomatitis [1.4%]). Two deaths were suspected to be treatment-related (pneumonia and septic shock).

conclusionsSustained reductions in TSC-associated treatment-refractory seizures over time were achieved with adjunctive everolimus. The safety profile was consistent with the core phase with no new safety concerns. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class IV evidence that long-term everolimus therapy reduces SF in patients with TSC-associated treatment-refractory seizures.

Identifiers

PMID30564495
PMCPMC6276348
OpenAlexW2894432237

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.