[Levetiracetam in combined therapy for focal epilepsy: experience with 80 patients].

BACKGROUND

Levetiracetam was released in 2000 as an antiepileptic drug for add-on treatment of focal epilepsies. Its efficacy and tolerability were investigated in this retrospective study.

METHODS

The effects of add-on treatment with levetiracetam on seizure frequency and side effects were analyzed retrospectively in 80 consecutive patients with focal epilepsy.

RESULTS

With a mean follow-up of 12.3 months, 18.8% of patients treated with levetiracetam became seizure-free, and additional 15.0% and 3.8% had reductions in seizure frequency of 75% and 50%, respectively. Increasing the dosage to more than 3,500 mg/day did not improve efficacy but could induce a paradoxical increase in seizure frequency and psychic side effects. Levetiracetam was efficacious against all seizure types independently of focus localization. There was no evidence for the development of tolerance with longer periods of treatment. The most common adverse effects were somnolence and aggressiveness; tolerability did not decrease with rapid titration.

CONCLUSIONS

Levetiracetam is a potent and generally well tolerable new antiepileptic drug which is also efficacious in patients with difficult-to-treat focal epilepsies.