BACKGROUND Refractory status epilepticus (RSE) is a common Neurological Emergency with increased mortality and morbidity in developing countries where facilities of intubation, adequate ventilation, Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and general anaesthesia are not ubiquitously available. Treatment protocols use antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) and need ICU facilities after failure of standard AEDs. Our aim...

OBJECTIVE To compare the effectiveness of 2 novel antiepileptic drugs, topiramate and levetiracetam, as a second line treatment for infantile spasm when oral steroids fail. METHODS Forty infants under 2 years with clinically- and EEG-proven infantile spasms that did not respond to prednisone (2mg/kg/day in 2 divided doses) were recruited and randomized into 2 groups. They were randomly assign...

INTRODUCTION Epileptic seizures in stroke patients are a common complication and adversely affect neurological outcome. We tried to perform a trial aimed at preventing the development of late poststroke seizures using levetiracetam. Levetiracetam is assumed to have anti-epileptogenic properties and might be suitable to prevent late epileptic seizures in stroke patients. METHODS Stroke patient...

We read with great interest the letter of Sodemann et al. on successful treatment of a patient with refractory absence status epilepticus (ASE) with lacosamide (LCM). In particular, Sodemann et al. reported the case of a 64-year-old male with juvenile absence epilepsy (he was on 400 mg/day lamotrigine, 400 mg/day topiramate and 2500 mg/day levetiracetam; plasma concentrations were not investiga...

Background: Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent non-communicable neurologic diseases leading to significant disability and mortality. Complaints of impaired learning and memory are common in patients of epilepsy. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may further enhance this impairment. So the present study was carried out on albino rats to evaluate the effect of AEDs on learning and memory. Objective: ...

− Treatment of seizures in pediatric patients is complicated by the fact that the etiology of the disorder and the pharmacokinetics, efficacy, and safety of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may differ from that in adults. With few controlled clinical trials of AEDs in children, the selection of agents to treat pediatric patients must be made on the basis of information from small uncontrolled studies...

BACKGROUND Spasticity is a common and debilitating symptom of multiple sclerosis (MS). Current treatments are effective, but may be difficult to tolerate for many patients. OBJECTIVE To determine if levetiracetam, a second-generation antiepileptic drug, may be useful for the treatment of spasticity in MS. METHODS A retrospective medical record review of patients attending the Multiple Scler...

PURPOSE There is growing evidence that complex interactions between seizures and the immune system shape the course of epilepsy. However, systematic analyses of the effects of antiepileptic drugs (AED) on the immune system in humans are rare. We performed a prospective study on the influence of the widely used AED valproate and levetiracetam on interictal immunological parameters. METHODS 36 ...

Case reports on the development of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) associated with concurrent administration of phenytoin with cranial radiation therapy (Ahmed (2004), Criton et al. (1997), and Rzany et al. (1996)), but reports about erythema multiforme, which can develop in patients treated with levetiracetam and cranial irradiation, are very limited. This paper presents evidence that TEN may...