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Neurotin News - Epilepsy Treatment
New guidelines for epilepsy treatment
From pharmexec.com - April, 2004
The American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy
Society released new guidelines for the treatment of epilepsy
with seven new antiepileptic drugs.
A 23-member committee of neurologists, pediatric neurologists,
epileptologists and physicians in pharmacy conducted a literature
review of 1,462 articles from 1987 to 2003 that involved epilepsy
and at least one of seven new antiepileptic drugs. The drugs
included Pfizer Inc.’s Neurontin (gabapentin), GlaxoSmithKline
Plc’s Lamictal (lamotrigine), Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical
Inc.’s Topamax (topiramate), Cephalon Inc.’s Gabitril
(tiagabine hydrochloride), Novartis AG’s Trileptal (oxcarbazepine),
UCB Pharma Inc.’s Keppra (levetiracetam) and Elan Corp.
Plc and Eisai Co. Ltd.'s Zonegran (zonisamide).
The committee members assessed drug efficacy and side effects
from double-blind controlled studies that included 20 or more
patients.
Overall, they found that Neurontin, Lamictal, Topamax and Trileptal
were effective as monotherapy in newly diagnosed adolescents
and adults with partial or mixed seizure disorders and were
effective for the treatment of refractory partial seizures in
children.
The evidence showed that Lamictal was effective for newly diagnosed
absence seizures in children. However, there was limited evidence
suggesting that Lamictal and Topamax were effective for adjunctive
treatment of idiopathic generalized epilepsy and Lennox-Gastaut
syndrome among both adults and children.
All of the new drugs were found to be appropriate for adjunctive
treatment of refractory partial seizures in adults, while Neurontin
could be effective for treating mixed seizure disorders.
However, the committee members said that there is a lack of
evidence related to the use of these new drugs in newly diagnosed
patients with other generalized epilepsy syndromes.
These study results were published in the April 27 issue of
Neurology. |
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