title: Lacosamide.
abstract: Lacosamide is a new chemical entity being investigated as an adjunctive treatment for epilepsy, as well as monotherapy for diabetic neuropathic pain. Lacosamide appears to have a dual mode of action: selective enhancement of sodium channel inactivation and modulation of collapsin response mediator protein-2. Rapidly and completely absorbed after oral administration, lacosamide has an elimination half-life of approximately 13 hours and a low potential for drug interactions. Additionally, lacosamide exhibits linear, dose-proportional pharmacokinetics with low intra- and interpatient variability. Randomized controlled trials of adjunctive lacosamide (200, 400, and 600 mg/day) have demonstrated statistically significant reduction in median seizure frequency compared with placebo. In addition, 50% responder rates for lacosamide (400 and 600 mg/day) were statistically superior to placebo. The most frequently reported adverse events (> or =10% of lacosamide-treated patients) included dizziness, headache, and nausea. A double-blind, double-dummy randomized trial of intravenous lacosamide (30- and 60-minute infusion) as replacement for oral lacosamide showed that the safety and tolerability profiles were comparable for intravenous and oral lacosamide. The efficacy and safety results from completed clinical trials, as well as the favorable pharmacokinetic profile, suggest that lacosamide may represent a significant advance in antiepileptic drug therapy.
authors.affiliation: SCHWARZ BIOSCIENCES, Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA. pamela.doty@schwarzbiosciences.com
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Doty
authors.forename: G David
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Rudd
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stoehr
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000081:Acetamides; D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000078334:Lacosamide
chemical_list: D000081:Acetamides; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000078334:Lacosamide