Efficacy of Lacosamide as Adjunctive Therapy in Children With Refractory Epilepsy

Lacosamide is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved antiepileptic drug for patients 17 years or older with partial epilepsy. There are sparse data on children. The objective of our study was to evaluate its efficacy/safety in children with refractory epilepsy. Forty children (mean age 14....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of child neurology 2014-01, Vol.29 (1), p.23-27
Main Authors: Yorns, William R., Khurana, Divya S., Carvalho, Karen S., Hardison, H. Huntley, Legido, Agustín, Valencia, Ignacio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetamides - therapeutic use
Adolescent
Age
Anticonvulsants - therapeutic use
Child
Child, Preschool
Epilepsy - drug therapy
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Infant
Male
Retrospective Studies
Treatment Outcome
Young Adult
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Summary:Lacosamide is a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved antiepileptic drug for patients 17 years or older with partial epilepsy. There are sparse data on children. The objective of our study was to evaluate its efficacy/safety in children with refractory epilepsy. Forty children (mean age 14.3 years) were treated with lacosamide at our institution (adjunctive therapy in 36, monotherapy in 4). Fifteen patients had symptomatic focal epilepsy, 2 had cryptogenic focal epilepsy, 20 had symptomatic generalized epilepsy, and 3 had cryptogenic generalized epilepsy. Two had juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and 5 had Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Forty-two percent had at least >50% reduction in seizure frequency, and 6 became seizure free. Average dose was 7 mg/kg/d and average follow-up was 9.2 months. Responders had a 76.5% mean decrease in seizures. Fifteen children experienced an adverse reaction and 7 discontinued lacosamide (4: Ineffective, I: insurance denial, 1: tremor, 1: behavior). Lacosamide is effective and well-tolerated in children with refractory epilepsy.
ISSN:0883-0738
1708-8283
DOI:10.1177/0883073812462887