Retinal OCT Changes and Biomarkers in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy

This prospective, longitudinal observational study investigates whether epilepsy involves a progressive neurodegenerative process. Retinal structural and microvascular changes assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and optical coherence (OCTA) will be analyzed alongside inflammatory biomarkers (sCD14, sCD163, CCL2, IL-1β). The study aims to explore their association with epilepsy pathophysiology, clinical phenotype, prognosis, and drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Among participants with epilepsy, seizure severity and antiseizure medication-related adverse-effect burden will also be assessed longitudinally using the National Hospital Seizure Severity Scale (NHS3) and the Turkish version of Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP-TR).

NCT Number	NCT07716930
Lead Sponsor	Kemal Tutkavul Collaborators: Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital Department of Neurology, Haydarpasa Numune Training and Research Hospital Department of Ophthalmology, Istanbul University Aziz Sancar Institute of Experimental Medicine, Health Institutes of Türkiye
Conditions	Epilepsy (Treatment Refractory), Epilepsy
Enrollment	250 participants
Start Date	2026-07-01
Primary Completion	2028-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2028-04 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2026-07-21