Epilepsy is a common
neurological disorder in the pediatric population, affecting up to one percent of children, and for which the mainstay of treatment is
anticonvulsant medication. Despite the frequent use of
anticonvulsant drugs, remarkably little is known about the safety and efficacy of most of these medications in the pediatric
epilepsy population. Of 34
anticonvulsants currently approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), only 13 have been approved for use in children. Although infants and young children are disproportionately affected by
epilepsy, there are currently only three
anticonvulsant medications that have been specifically evaluated and approved for use in children younger than 2 years of age. In 2012, the FDA approved
levetiracetam as an adjunctive treatment for partial onset
seizures in infants and children from one month of age. Here we review the available data on
levetiracetam in the pediatric
epilepsy population. We first discuss the pharmacological profile of
levetiracetam, including its mechanism of action, formulations and dosing, and pharmacokinetics in children. We then review the available efficacy, safety, and tolerability data in children from one month of age with partial onset
seizures. We conclude that the current data leading to the approval of
levetiracetam for use in infants and children with partial onset
seizures is encouraging, although more work needs to be done before definitive conclusions can be drawn about the efficacy of
levetiracetam across different pediatric age groups.