BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many patients with epilepsy are treated with antiepileptic drug (AED) polytherapy. Several factors influence the choice of early add-on therapy, and deciding on the most appropriate drug can be difficult. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and tolerability of lacosamide as early add-on therapy in patients with partial-onset seizures. METHODS: REALLY (REtrospective study of lAcosamide as earLy add-on aLong one Year) was a multicenter, retrospective, 1-year, real-life study. Patients included were aged older than 16 years, had partial-onset seizures, and were treated with lacosamide as add-on therapy after one or two prior AEDs. Data were collected retrospectively from clinical records. The primary study objective was to assess the efficacy of lacosamide over 12 months (seizure-free and responder rates), and the secondary objective was to assess the tolerability of lacosamide at 3, 6, and 12 months [adverse events (AEs) and discontinuation]. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-nine patients were enrolled in the study; 89 patients (44.7 %) had tried one AED and 110 patients (55.3 %) had tried two AEDs before lacosamide. At 12 months, the proportion of patients who were seizure free was 44.9 %, and 76 % of patients were responders. The seizure-free rate at 12 months for patients who had previously received one or two AEDs was 58 and 34.3 %, and the responder rate at 12 months was 83.0 and 70.4 %, respectively. The AE rate was 21.5 % at 3 months, 27.1 % at 6 months, and 31.2 % at 12 months, with 7.0 % of patients discontinuing treatment because of an AE. The most common AE reported was dizziness (11.6 %). Cryptogenic epilepsy, a higher number of prior AEDs, and the use of a sodium channel blocker at onset were associated with a worse outcome. The number of concomitant AEDs decreased over 1 year (Z = 5.89; p < 0.001). Twenty-two patients were converted to lacosamide monotherapy with at least one evaluation ≥6 months from the beginning of monotherapy conversion. CONCLUSIONS: Lacosamide was effective and well tolerated as early add-on treatment in patients who had received one or two previous AEDs.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Many patients with epilepsy are treated with antiepileptic drug (AED) polytherapy. Several factors influence the choice of early add-on therapy, and deciding on the most appropriate drug can be difficult. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and tolerability of lacosamide as early add-on therapy in patients with partial-onset seizures. METHODS: REALLY (REtrospective study of lAcosamide as earLy add-on aLong one Year) was a multicenter, retrospective, 1-year, real-life study. Patients included were aged older than 16 years, had partial-onset seizures, and were treated with lacosamide as add-on therapy after one or two prior AEDs. Data were collected retrospectively from clinical records. The primary study objective was to assess the efficacy of lacosamide over 12 months (seizure-free and responder rates), and the secondary objective was to assess the tolerability of lacosamide at 3, 6, and 12 months [adverse events (AEs) and discontinuation]. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-nine patients were enrolled in the study; 89 patients (44.7 %) had tried one AED and 110 patients (55.3 %) had tried two AEDs before lacosamide. At 12 months, the proportion of patients who were seizure free was 44.9 %, and 76 % of patients were responders. The seizure-free rate at 12 months for patients who had previously received one or two AEDs was 58 and 34.3 %, and the responder rate at 12 months was 83.0 and 70.4 %, respectively. The AE rate was 21.5 % at 3 months, 27.1 % at 6 months, and 31.2 % at 12 months, with 7.0 % of patients discontinuing treatment because of an AE. The most common AE reported was dizziness (11.6 %). Cryptogenic epilepsy, a higher number of prior AEDs, and the use of a sodium channel blocker at onset were associated with a worse outcome. The number of concomitant AEDs decreased over 1 year (Z = 5.89; p < 0.001). Twenty-two patients were converted to lacosamide monotherapy with at least one evaluation ≥6 months from the beginning of monotherapy conversion. CONCLUSIONS:Lacosamide was effective and well tolerated as early add-on treatment in patients who had received one or two previous AEDs.
Authors: Vicente Villanueva; Francisco Javier López; José María Serratosa; Beatriz González-Giraldez; Dulce Campos; Albert Molins; Juan Rodriguez Uranga; José Angel Mauri; Javier Salas-Puig; Manuel Toledo; Juan Carlos Sánchez-Alvarez; Antonio Moreno; Pedro J Serrano-Castro; Rosa Ana Saiz-Diaz; Jesús González de la Aleja; Pilar de la Peña; Montserrat Asensio Journal: Epilepsy Behav Date: 2013-08-30 Impact factor: 2.937
Authors: Lorena Flores; Steven Kemp; Katie Colbeck; Nicholas Moran; Jennifer Quirk; Pierre Ramkolea; Tim J von Oertzen; Lina Nashef; Mark P Richardson; Peter Goulding; Robert Elwes Journal: Seizure Date: 2012-06-12 Impact factor: 3.184
Authors: Fritjof Reinhardt; Yvonne G Weber; Thomas Mayer; Gerhard Luef; Lars Joeres; Frank Tennigkeit; Peter Dedeken; Marc De Backer; Scarlett Hellot; Thomas Lauterbach; Tanja Webers; Stephan Arnold Journal: Epilepsia Open Date: 2019-06-22
Authors: Viktor Farkas; Barbara Steinborn; J Robert Flamini; Ying Zhang; Nancy Yuen; Simon Borghs; Ali Bozorg; Tony Daniels; Paul Martin; Hannah C Carney; Svetlana Dimova; Ingrid E Scheffer Journal: Neurology Date: 2019-08-28 Impact factor: 9.910
Authors: Uwe Runge; Stephan Arnold; Christian Brandt; Fritjof Reinhardt; Frank Kühn; Kathleen Isensee; Francisco Ramirez; Peter Dedeken; Thomas Lauterbach; Matthias Noack-Rink; Thomas Mayer Journal: Epilepsia Date: 2015-11-03 Impact factor: 5.864
Authors: V Villanueva; B G Giráldez; M Toledo; G J De Haan; E Cumbo; A Gambardella; M De Backer; L Joeres; M Brunnert; P Dedeken; J Serratosa Journal: Acta Neurol Scand Date: 2018-03-14 Impact factor: 3.209