title: Zonisamide for West syndrome: a comparison of clinical responses among different titration rate.
abstract: We administered zonisamide (ZNS) to patients with West syndrome in different titration protocols and compared their short-term therapeutic effects. We designed three protocols to raise the serum ZNS concentration (SZC): (1) increase the dose in three steps, from 3 to 10 mg/kg every 3 days, (2) increase the dose from 5 to 10 mg/kg over 3-7 days, and (3) start with 10 mg/kg and maintain this dosage for 2 weeks. The subjects were 23 infants with West syndrome, 8 of whom comprised the 1st group, 5 the 2nd group, and the remaining 10, the 3rd group. As a result, excellent and good effects were obtained in a total of seven patients (30.4%) and one patient, respectively (1/8 in the 1st step-up group, 3/5 in the 2nd step-up group, and 4/10 in the 3rd group). The maximum SZC was higher in the excellent and good effect groups (n=8; 32.0+/-8.0 microg/ml) than in the ineffective group (n=15; 22.4+/-8.2 microg/ml) (P<0.05). The period of time required for cessation of spasms appeared shorter in the 3rd group (n=4; mean=5.7 days) than in the 1st and 2nd groups (n=4; mean=10.3 days). There were few side effects except for transient hyperthermia and gastrointestinal symptoms. Our new protocol of starting with 10 mg/kg of ZNS can be introduced safely and make a therapeutic judgment feasible within 2 weeks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yanagaki
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oguni
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshii
authors.forename: Kitami
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Kaoru
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Imai
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Funatsuka
authors.forename: Makiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osawa
mesh_terms: D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007555:Isoxazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D013036:Spasms, Infantile / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000078305:Zonisamide
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D007555:Isoxazoles; D000078305:Zonisamide