title: Pregabalin in patients with primary brain tumors and seizures: a preliminary observation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patients with brain tumors and seizures should be treated with non-enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs (AED). Some of the newer drugs seem particularly suited in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Here we describe our experience with pregabalin (PGB); its effectiveness was retrospectively studied in nine consecutive patients with primary brain tumors and seizures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Six subjects had secondarily generalized and three simple partial seizures. Patients mostly suffered from WHO grade IV gliomas. PGB replaced enzyme inducing, inefficacious or bad tolerated AED, as add-on or monotherapy. Median follow-up was 5 (2-19) months; three patients died of their tumor. Daily median dosage was 300 mg. All subjects experienced at least a 50% seizure reduction, six were seizure-free. Side effects were reported in four patients, leading to PGB discontinuation in two.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PGB appears to have a promising effectiveness in this setting, even as a monotherapy. Based on these results we embarked on a prospective controlled trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Novy
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stupp
authors.forename: Andrea O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Rossetti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005910:Glioma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000069583:Pregabalin; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012640:Seizures / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000069583:Pregabalin; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid