Long-term follow-up of topiramate and lamotrigine: a perspective on quality of life

We conducted a prospective, long-term audit of lamotrigine and topiramate as add-on treatment for refractory epilepsy. A total of 55 patients participated in the study. Five years after starting the drug 7/20 patients remained on lamotrigine and 13/35 on topiramate. The patients still on the study drugs showed an improvement in seizure frequency, with 5/7 patients being seizure free on lamotrigine and 4/13 on topiramate. Furthermore, we assessed quality of life using the quality of life assessment schedule and found a significant improvement for the patients still on the study drugs. These data suggest that about one third of the patients on lamotrigine or topiramate as add-on therapy stay on the drug in the long term. These patients are likely to benefit with respect to objective and subjective outcome measures.