BACKGROUND Levetiracetam, a second-generation anti-epileptic drug (AED) with a good efficacy and safety profile, is licensed as monotherapy for adults and children older than 16 years with focal seizures with or without secondary generalization. However, it is increasingly being used off-label in younger children. OBJECTIVES We critically reviewed the available evidence and discuss the presen...

Lamotrigine is a broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug that blocks sodium channels, thereby inhibiting the pre-synaptic release of excitatory neurotransmitters. The primary aim of the study was to evaluate lamotrigine add-on therapy and consecutive monotherapy in patients with epilepsy whose seizures were not controlled by carbamazepine or valproate. One hundred and twenty six epilepsy patients at ...

Ten adults were treated with ketogenic diet monotherapy for epilepsy. Four patients were naïve to antiseizure drugs (ASDs), and six previously tried and stopped ASDs. Of four treatment-naïve participants, two (50%) were free from disabling seizures on Modified Atkins Diet (MAD) monotherapy for > 1 year. Two (50%) stopped. Four of six patients (67%) who had previously tried ASDs became seizure-f...

In the absence of head-to-head clinical data, the objective of this study was to indirectly compare the efficacy and safety of a bivalirudin-based anticoagulation strategy with that of heparin monotherapy in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) intended for primary percutaneous coronary intervention. A systematic literature review was performed to identify randomized control...

This study compared immediate (overnight) and progressive switching to oxcarbazepine monotherapy in patients with partial seizures unsatisfactorily treated with carbamazepine monotherapy. Patients were randomised to either an overnight (n = 140) or a progressive switch (n = 146) from carbamazepine to oxcarbazepine monotherapy at a dose ratio of 1:1.5. The difference between the two switch group...

OBJECTIVE Although antipsychotic polypharmacy is widely used in the pharmacotherapy of schizophrenia, its effectiveness is controversial. In particular, clinicians tend to avoid switching to monotherapy in patients who have been prescribed polypharmacy. In the present study, the authors investigate whether there is difference in time to discontinuation of antipsychotics between patients on prev...

Darunavir/ritonavir monotherapy maintains HIV suppression in most patients who have achieved an undetectable viral load on combination antiretroviral treatment, and is increasingly used in the clinic. However, concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor (PI/r) monotherapy in the prevention of HIV replication in the central nervous system (CNS). Here...

OBJECTIVE To assess the relative cost effectiveness of cephalosporin monotherapy options and aminoglycoside/ureidopenicillin combination therapy for the treatment of febrile episodes in adult patients with neutropenia. DESIGN AND SETTING This was a retrospective cost-effectiveness analysis conducted from the institutional perspective. METHODS The analysis was based on 741 febrile episodes i...

PURPOSE Although expert guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia recommend antipsychotic monotherapy, the use of antipsychotic polypharmacy is common. This study identified characteristics that differentiate patients with schizophrenia who are treated with olanzapine monotherapy versus polypharmacy in usual care in Japan. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a large (N = 1850) prospective, observatio...

OBJECTIVE Reports on zonisamide monotherapy are limited despite favourable preliminary data, and typically restricted to tertiary referral centres. The goal of this study is to report clinical experience with zonisamide monotherapy in a large, multi-group clinic setting. METHODS We reviewed the charts of patients treated with zonisamide monotherapy in the Neurology Department of the Kelsey-Se...