Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial of Intravenous Immunoglobulin in Autoimmune LGI1/CASPR2 Epilepsy

Drug-resistant seizures are common in patients with leucine-rich, glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1)-IgG associated and contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2)-IgG associated encephalitis. We performed the first randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial to evaluate efficacy of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) in reducing seizure frequency.

Our enrollment goal was 30 LGI1/CASPR2-IgG-seropositive adult patients with ≥2 seizures per week. Patients were randomized to receive IVIG (0.5g/kg day 1, 1g/kg day 2, 0.6g/kg weeks 3 and 5) or volume-matched intravenous normal saline. Following the blinded phase, the nonresponders in the placebo group received IVIG. The primary clinical outcome was 50% reduction in seizure frequency from baseline to 5 weeks.

After enrollment of 17 patients (LGI1-IgG, 14; CASPR2-IgG, 3) over 34 months, the study was terminated due to slow enrollment. Six of 8 patients in the IVIG group were responders, compared to 2 of 9 in the placebo group (p = 0.044, odds ratio = 10.5, 95% confidence interval = 1.1-98.9). For the LGI1-IgG seropositive subgroup, 6 of 8 patients in the IVIG group were responders, compared to zero of 6 in the placebo group. Two LGI1-IgG-seropositive patients receiving IVIG, but none receiving placebo, were seizure-free at the end of the blinded phase. Four of the 6 patients entering the open-label IVIG arm reported ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency. There were no correlations with LGI1/CASPR2-IgG1-4 subclasses.

Superiority of IVIG to placebo reached statistical significance for the primary endpoint for all patients and the subset with LGI1-IgG. These results have to be interpreted with the caveat that the study did not reach its originally selected sample size. ANN NEUROL 2020;87:313-323.