Lamotrigine for patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy following prior treatment with valproate: results of an open-label study.

This open-label study was designed to evaluate lamotrigine monotherapy as a possible alternative in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy who previously failed treatment with valproate. Patients (n=63) were transitioned from valproate to lamotrigine during an 8-week escalation phase followed by 24 weeks of lamotrigine monotherapy. On Week 24 of the treatment phase, investigators judged that 50 and 67% of patients completing the study had shown mild, moderate, or marked improvement in adverse events and global clinical status, respectively, and 76% of patients rated lamotrigine as somewhat better (13%) or much better (63%) than valproate. The majority of patients completing the study experienced no deterioration of seizure control when switching from valproate to lamotrigine. These results support additional research on lamotrigine in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.