Search results for " Anticonvulsants"
showing 10 items of 11 documents
Rufinamide in children and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome: first Italian multicenter experience
2010
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…
Novel Potent Anticonvulsant Agent Containing a Tetrahydroisoquinoline Skeleton
2006
In our studies on the development of new anticonvulsants, we planned the synthesis of N-substituted 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines to explore the structure-activity relationships. All derivatives were evaluated against audiogenic seizures in DBA/2 mice, and the 1-(4'-bromophenyl)-6,7-dimethoxy-2-(piperidin-1-ylacetyl) derivative (26) showed the highest activity with a potency comparable to that of talampanel, the only noncompetitive alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) antagonist in clinical trials as an anticonvulsant agent. Electrophysiological experiments indicated that 26 acts as noncompetitive AMPA receptor modulator.
Efficacy of levetiracetam in the treatment of drug-resistant Rett Syndrome.
2010
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a progressive neurological disorder characterized by a wide spectrum of phenotypes. Epilepsy is reported to occur in 50–90% of patients with RTT; some develop medically refractory epilepsy. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of levetiracetam (LEV) in drug-resistant patients with RTT. This prospective, pragmatic, open-label study consisted of an 8-week baseline period and a 6-month evaluation period. Efficacy variable was the mean frequency of monthly seizures before, and after 3 and 6 months of treatment with LEV. Eight female patients, aged 7.5–19 years (M12.8 ± 5) entered the study. Mean age at epilepsy onset was 25.8 ± 14.1 months. All patients sh…
Epidemiology and diagnostic and therapeutic management of febrile seizures in the Italian pediatric emergency departments: A prospective observationa…
2015
AIM: Febrile seizures (FS) involve 2-5% of the paediatric population, among which Complex FS (CFS) account for one third of accesses for FS in Emergency Departments (EDs). The aim of our study was to define the epidemiology, the clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic approach to FS and CFSs in the Italian EDs. METHODS: A multicenter prospective observational study was performed between April 2014 and March 2015. Patients between 1 and 60 months of age, randomly accessing to ED for ongoing FS or reported FS at home were included. Demographic features and diagnostic-therapeutic follow-up were recorded. FS were categorized in simple (<10min), prolonged (10-30min) and status epilepticus (>3…
Sustained seizure freedom with adjunctive brivaracetam in patients with focal onset seizures
2022
The maintenance of seizure control over time is a clinical priority in patients with epilepsy. The aim of this study was to assess the sustained seizure frequency reduction with adjunctive brivaracetam (BRV) in real-world practice. Patients with focal epilepsy prescribed add-on BRV were identified. Study outcomes included sustained seizure freedom and sustained seizure response, defined as a 100% and a ≥50% reduction in baseline seizure frequency that continued without interruption and without BRV withdrawal through the 12-month follow-up. Nine hundred ninety-four patients with a median age of 45 (interquartile range = 32-56) years were included. During the 1-year study period, sustained se…
Zonisamide in children and young adults with refractory epilepsy: an open label, multicenter Italian study
2009
Summary Purpose To report on the first multicenter Italian experience with zonisamide as an add-on drug for refractory generalised or partial epilepsy in children, adolescents and young adults. Methods The patients were enrolled in a prospective, add-on, open-label treatment study from eight Italian centres for children and adolescent epilepsy care. Eighty-two young patients (45 males, 37 females), aged between 3 and 34 years (mean 13.1 years), all affected by partial (47) or generalised (35) refractory epilepsy, were enrolled in the study. ZNS was added to the baseline therapy at a starting dose of 1 mg/kg/day twice daily. This dose was increased by 2 mg/kg every 1–2 weeks over a period of…
Adjunctive Brivaracetam in Older Patients with Focal Seizures: Evidence from the BRIVAracetam add‑on First Italian netwoRk Study (BRIVAFIRST).
2022
BACKGROUND: The management of epilepsy in older adults has become part of daily practice because of an aging population. Older patients with epilepsy represent a distinct and more vulnerable clinical group as compared with younger patients, and they are generally under-represented in randomized placebo-controlled trials. Real-world studies can therefore be a useful complement to characterize the drug's profile. Brivaracetam is a rationally developed compound characterized by high-affinity binding to synaptic vesicle protein 2A and approved as adjunctive therapy for focal seizures in adults with epilepsy. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the 12-month effectiveness and tolerabil…
Lamotrigine use in pregnancy and risk of orofacial cleft and other congenital anomalies
2016
Objective: To test previous signals of a risk of orofacial cleft (OC) and clubfoot with exposure to the antiepileptic lamotrigine, and to investigate risk of other congenital anomalies (CA).Methods: This was a population-based case–malformed control study based on 21 EUROCAT CA registries covering 10.1 million births (1995–2011), including births to 2005 in which the clubfoot signal was generated and a subsequent independent study population of 6.3 million births. A total of 226,806 babies with CA included livebirths, stillbirths, and terminations of pregnancy following prenatal diagnosis. First-trimester lamotrigine monotherapy exposure in OC cases and clubfoot cases was compared to other …
Current Pharmacological Treatment of Painful Diabetic Neuropathy: A Narrative Review.
2020
Background and Objectives: Distal symmetrical polyneuropathy (DSPN) is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. Although it is usually characterized by progressive sensory loss, some patients may develop chronic pain. Assessment of DSPN is not difficult, but the biggest challenge is making the correct diagnosis and choosing the right treatment. The treatment of DSPN has three primary objectives: glycemic control, pathogenic mechanisms, and pain management. The aim of this brief narrative review is to summarize the current pharmacological treatment of painful DSPN. It also summarizes knowledge on pathogenesis-oriented therapy, which is generally overlooked in many p…
Brivaracetam as add-on treatment in patients with post-stroke epilepsy: real-world data from the BRIVAracetam add-on First Italian netwoRk Study (BRI…
2022
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…