Efficacy and safety of levetiracetam (3,000 mg/Day) as an adjunctive therapy in Chinese patients with refractory partial seizures.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of 3,000 mg daily levetiracetam (LEV; Keppra) as an adjunctive therapy for Chinese patients with refractory partial seizures.


METHODS
This randomized, placebo-controlled trial consisted of an 8-week baseline period followed by a 4-week titration interval and a 12-week maintenance period, and concluded with a 4-week medication withdrawal period or entered an open-label study. LEV was compared with placebo.


RESULTS
The 50% responder rate (the proportion of patients with a minimum of 50% reduction in partial seizure frequency) occurred in 46.4% of the LEV group, compared with 39.3% of the placebo group (p = 0.590). The median of the absolute weekly frequency reduction from baseline of partial seizures was 0.66 per week for LEV versus 0.48 per week for placebo (p = 0.187). The most common treatment-emergent adverse events, mostly mild to moderate in severity, were somnolence, dizziness and agitation.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, adjunctive therapy with LEV 3,000 mg daily was well tolerated but not as effective as expected in controlling partial seizures in this study population. Considering the lower mean weight of this study population, we suggest the dosage of LEV 3,000 mg daily may contribute to the results.
Xiao
Zheng
Z
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurology, Chongqing, China.
Li
Jin-Mei
JM
Wang
Xue-Feng
XF
Xiao
Fei
F
Xi
Zhi-Qin
ZQ
Lv
Yang
Y
Sun
Hong-Bin
HB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001835:Body Weight; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002681:China; D004244:Dizziness / Q000139:chemically induced; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010889:Piracetam / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation; D012640:Seizures / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D010889:Piracetam