title: Lacosamide: A Review in Focal Seizures in Patients with Epilepsy.
abstract: Lacosamide (Vimpat(®)) is a functionalized amino acid available orally (as a solution or tablets) and as an intravenous infusion for use as monotherapy (only in the USA) or adjunctive therapy for the treatment of focal seizures in adult and adolescent (aged ≥17 years in the USA) patients with epilepsy. As adjunctive therapy to other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), lacosamide provided effective seizure control and was generally well tolerated in adults and adolescents (aged ≥16 years) in randomized clinical trials and in the real-world setting. In clinical trials, adjunctive lacosamide provided significantly greater reductions in 28-day seizure rates than adjunctive placebo, with these benefits maintained after up to 8 years of therapy in open-label extension studies. Moreover, patients were effectively switched from oral to short-term intravenous adjunctive therapy at the same dosage, which may be particularly beneficial in situations where oral therapy is not suitable. Conversion to lacosamide monotherapy was superior to a historical-control cohort in patients with focal seizures converting from previous AED therapy. In the absence of head-to-head comparisons with other AEDs, the exact position of lacosamide relative to other AEDs remains to be fully determined. In the meantime, oral and intravenous lacosamide provides a useful option as monotherapy (only in the USA) or adjunctive therapy for the treatment of focal seizures in adult and adolescent (aged ≥17 years in the USA) patients with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Springer, Private Bag 65901, Mairangi Bay, 0754, Auckland, New Zealand. demail@springer.com.
authors.forename: Lesley J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D000081:Acetamides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D000078334:Lacosamide; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D000081:Acetamides; D000927:Anticonvulsants; D000078334:Lacosamide