title: Effects of levetiracetam monotherapy on the cognitive function of epilepsy patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the effect of levetiracetam (LEV) on cognitive function and mood status in newly diagnosed epilepsy patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-five drug-naïve epilepsy patients (M:F ratio = 31:24; mean age = 30.9 years) were included. All patients underwent two neuropsychological (NP) tests, one before receiving LEV and then another 12.9 ± 5.0 months after starting LEV monotherapy. We evaluated general cognitive function, verbal/visual attention and memory, linguistic and visuospatial functions, frontal lobe function, and mood status. Repeated-measures regression and generalized estimating equation models were applied to assess the effects of all the confounding variables such as seizure control, average LEV dose, duration of epilepsy, inter-test interval, and subtype of epilepsy syndrome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LEV monotherapy over 1 year revealed significant improvements in the following domains of NP tests with the correction of possible confounding variables: verbal and visual attention, psychomotor speed, mental flexibility, executive function, verbal fluency and word generation. No NP domains showed any significant decrease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggested that LEV monotherapy had no harmful effect on cognitive function in drug-naïve patients with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Samsung Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dae Lim
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: Kyoung Jin
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Daeyoung
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: You-Jin
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ji Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Wonchul
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Mi Rim
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eun Yeon
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Jong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seung Bong
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010889:Piracetam / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000077287:Levetiracetam; D010889:Piracetam