title: Zonisamide efficacy as adjunctive therapy in children with refractory epilepsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Approximately one third of epileptic children do not achieve complete seizure improvement. Zonisamide is a new antiepileptic drug which is effective as adjunctive therapy in treatment of intractable partial seizures. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness, safety, and tolerability of Zonisamide in epileptic children.
  
  
  METHODS
  From November 2011 until October 2012, 68 children who referred to Children's Medical Center and Mofid Children Hospital due to refractory epilepsy (failure of seizure control with the use of two or more anticonvulsant drugs) entered the study. The patients were treated with Zonisamide by dose of 2- 12 mg/kg daily in addition to the previous medication. We followed the children every three to four-weeks intervals based on daily frequency, severity and duration of seizures. During the follow-up equal and more than fifty percent reduction in seizure frequency or severity known as response to the drug.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study 68 patients were examined that 61 children reached the last stage.35 (57.4%) were male and 26 (42.6%) patients were female. After first and six months of Zonisamide administration daily seizure frequency decreased to 2.95±3.54 and 3.73±3.5 respectively. There was significant difference between seizure frequency in first and six month after Zonisamide toward initial attacks. After six months ZNS therapy a little side effects were created in 10 patients (16.4%) including stuttering(4.9%), decreased appetite (4.9%), hallucination (1.6%), dizziness(1.6%), blurred vision(1.6%) and suspiring(1.6%) as all of them eliminated later dosage reduction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study conﬁrms the short term efﬁcacy and safety of Zonisamide in children with refractory epilepsies.
authors.affiliation: Professor of Pediatric Neurology, Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran ; Professor of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatric Neurology, Mofid Children Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Parvaneh
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karimzadeh
authors.affiliation: Professor of Pediatric Neurology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmoud Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ashrafi
authors.affiliation: Fellow of Pediatric Neurology, Pediatric Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Kazem
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bakhshandeh Bali
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Nasehi
authors.affiliation: General Physician, Brain and Spinal Injury Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyedeh Mohadeseh
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Taheri Otaghsara
authors.affiliation: General Physician, Brain and Spinal Injury Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, (TUMS), Tehran, Iran ; Associate Professor of PediatricNeurology, Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Shahid Beheshi University of, Medical Science (SBMU), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Taghdiri
authors.affiliation: Professor of Pediatric Neurology, Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU), Tehran, Iran ; Professor of Pediatric Neurology, Department of Pediatric Neurology, Mofid Children Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghofrani
keywords: Antiepileptic drugs; Intractable Epilepsy; Zonisamide