title: Topiramate monotherapy in newly diagnosed epilepsy in children and adolescents.
abstract: A double-blind, dose-controlled study evaluated topiramate as monotherapy in 470 patients with newly diagnosed (< or = 3 months) epilepsy or epilepsy relapse in the absence of therapy. In addition to having at least 2 lifetime-unprovoked seizures, patients had 1 or 2 partial-onset seizures or generalized-onset tonic-clonic seizures during a 3-month retrospective baseline. The trial included a large cohort (N = 151, 32%) of children and adolescents 6 to 15 years of age. Eligible patients were randomized to treatment groups in which topiramate was titrated to target maintenance dosages of either 400 mg/day (n = 77) or 50 mg/day (n = 74). Patients were followed for at least 6 months. Based on Kaplan-Meier analyses, the primary efficacy endpoint of time to first seizure favored the higher topiramate dose in both the overall population and the cohort of children/adolescents. The probability that children/adolescents remaining in the study were seizure free at 6 months was 78% in the 50-mg target dose group and 90% with the higher dose. At 12 months, the probability of being seizure free was 62% and 85%, respectively. The incidence of treatment-limiting adverse events was 4% in the 50-mg target dose group and 14% in the group assigned to 400 mg as a target dose. The most common adverse events, excluding typical childhood illnesses, were headache, appetite decrease, weight loss, somnolence, dizziness, concentration/attention difficulty, and paresthesia. As shown in this subset analysis, topiramate is effective and well tolerated as monotherapy in children and adolescents.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-2899, USA. tracy.glauser@cchmc.org
authors.forename: Tracy A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Glauser
authors.forename: Dennis J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Dlugos
authors.forename: W Edwin
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Dodson
authors.forename: Augusto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grinspan
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shu-Chen
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005632:Fructose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000077236:Topiramate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000077236:Topiramate; D005632:Fructose