Outcome of lamotrigine treatment in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:

To determine the response rate of patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) to lamotrigine (LTG) and identify predictive factors for treatment response.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:

Medical records of 62 patients with JME were reviewed for demographic, clinical, and EEG parameters. We determined clinical response to LTG and compared LTG responders with non-responders.

RESULTS:

There were 35 LTG responders (56%) and 27 non-responders (44%). JME patients without generalized tonic clonic seizures (GTCS) responded better to LTG (P = 0.04). Valproic acid (VPA) failure because of adverse events rather than lack of efficacy (P = 0.069) and delay in diagnosis (P = 0.07) showed a tendency toward good response to LTG.

CONCLUSIONS:

LTG should be considered a drug of first choice for JME patients without GTCS. LTG as second-line treatment after VPA failure seems more appropriate for those patients whose reason for VPA failure is poor tolerability rather than lack of efficacy.

• Authors: H Bodenstein-Sachar, R Gandelman-Marton, B Ben-Zeev, J Chapman, I Blatt
• Journal: Acta neurologica Scandinavica (Acta Neurol Scand) Vol. 124 Issue 1 Pg. 22-7 (Jul 2011) ISSN: 1600-0404 [Electronic] Denmark
• PMID: 21208196 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Chemical References

• Anticonvulsants
• Triazines
• Lamotrigine

Topics

• Adolescent
• Anticonvulsants (therapeutic use)
• Child
• Female
• Humans
• Lamotrigine
• Male
• Myoclonic Epilepsy, Juvenile (drug therapy)
• Prognosis
• Retrospective Studies
• Seizures (drug therapy)
• Treatment Outcome
• Triazines (therapeutic use)
• Young Adult