0000000000206858
AUTHOR
Francesco Habetswallner
Rufinamide in children and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome: first Italian multicenter experience
This is the first multicenter Italian experience with rufinamide as an adjunctive drug in children, adolescents and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The patients were enrolled in a prospective, add-on, open-label treatment study from 11 Italian centers for children and adolescent epilepsy care. Forty-three patients (26 males, 17 females), aged between 4 and 34 years (mean 15.9 ± 7.3, median 15.0), were treated with rufinamide for a mean period of 12.3 months (range 3-21 months). Twenty patients were diagnosed as cryptogenic and 23 as symptomatic. Rufinamide was added to the baseline therapy at the starting dose of 10mg/kg body weight, evenly divided in two daily doses and then increased…
Levetiracetam during 1-year follow-up in children, adolescents, and young adults with refractory epilepsy
Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam (LEV) in refractory crypto/symptomatic, partial or generalised epilepsy in children, adolescents and young adults. Methods: We performed a prospective open label add-on study in 99 patients (age 12 months to 32 years, mean 14 years) with partial or generalised, crypto/symtpomatic seizures. Levetiracetam was added to no more than two baseline AEDs and the efficacy was rated according to seizure type and frequency. Results: LEV was initiated at the starting dose of 10 mg/kg/day with 5-day increments up to 50 mg/kg/day, unless it was not tolerated. Concomitant therapy was generally not modified throughout the study. After a mean fol…
Brivaracetam as add-on treatment in patients with post-stroke epilepsy: real-world data from the BRIVAracetam add-on First Italian netwoRk Study (BRIVAFIRST)
Objective: Post-stroke epilepsy (PSE) is one of the most common causes of acquired epilepsy and accounts for about 10-15% of all newly diagnosed epilepsy cases. However, evidence about the clinical profile of antiseizure medications in the PSE setting is currently limited. Brivaracetam (BRV) is a rationally developed compound characterized by high-affinity binding to synaptic vesicle protein 2A. The aim of this study was to assess the 12-month effectiveness and tolerability of adjunctive BRV in patients with PSE treated in a real-world setting. Methods: This was a subgroup analysis of patients with PSE included in the BRIVAracetam add-on First Italian netwoRk Study (BRIVAFIRST). The BRIVAFI…
Rufinamide in refractory childhood epileptic encephalopathies other than Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
Background:  To report on the first multicenter Italian experience with rufinamide as adjunctive drug in children, adolescents and young adults with refractory childhood-onset epileptic encephalopathies other than Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Methods:  Thirty-eight patients (19 males, 19 females), aged between 4 and 34 (mean 13.7 ± 8.3, median 12.5), all affected by different types of childhood-onset refractory epileptic encephalopathies other than Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, were treated with rufinamide as adjunctive drug for a mean period of 11.4 months (range 3-26 months). Results:  Fifteen of 38 patients (39.5%) had a ≥50% seizure reduction in co…