title: Clinical trial of vigabatrin as adjunctive therapy in children with refractory epilepsy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Approximately one-third of all children with epilepsy do not achieve complete seizure improvement. This study evaluated the efficacy of Vigabatrin in children with intractable epilepsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  From November 2011 to October 2012, 73 children with refractory epilepsy (failure of seizure control with the use of two or more anticonvulsant drugs) who were referred to the Children's Medical Center and Mofid Children's Hospital were included in the study. The patients were treated with Vigabatrin in addition to their previous medication, and followed-up after three to four weeks to determine the daily frequency, severity, and duration of seizures in addition to any reported side effects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 67 children, 41 (61.2%) were males and 26 (38.8%) females, their age ranging from three months to 13 years with an average of 3.1 [standard deviation (SD), 2.6] years. The mean daily frequency of seizures at baseline was 6.61 (SD, 5.9) seizures per day. Vigabatrin reduced the seizure frequency ≤2.9 (SD, 5.2) (56% decline) and 3.0 (SD, 5.3) (54.5% decline) per day after three and six months of treatment, respectively. A significant difference was observed between seizure frequencies at three (P<0.001) and six months (P<0.001) after Vigabatrin initiation compared with the baseline. Somnolence [3 (4.5%)], horse laugh [1 (1.5%)], urinary stones [1 (1.5%)], increased appetite [1 (1.5%)], and abnormal electroretinographic pattern [3 (4.5%)] were the most common side effects in our patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirms the short-term efficacy and safety of Vigabatrin in children with refractory epilepsies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad-Mahdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Taghdiri
authors.affiliation: Growth and Development Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Department of Pediatrics, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmoud-Reza
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ashrafi
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad-Kazem
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bakhshandeh-Bali
authors.affiliation: Brain and Spinal Injury Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyedeh-Mohadeseh
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Taheri-Otaghsara
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad-Mahdi
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Nasehi
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Neurology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.lastname: Mohammad-Ghofrani
keywords: Add-on Therapy; Antiepileptic Drugs; Intractable Epilepsy; Vigabatrin