[Brivaracetam for add-on treatment in focal epilepsy].

[Brivaracetam for add-on treatment in focal epilepsy]. Nervenarzt. 2016 Jul 7; Authors: Strzelczyk A, Steinig I, Klein KM, Willems LM, Knake S, Rosenow F, Bauer S Abstract Brivaracetam is the latest antiepileptic drug to be approved for adjunctive therapy in focal epilepsy and has a high affinity as a SV2A ligand. The aim of this review article is to summarize the data from the pivotal studies in which more than 2000 patients received brivaracetam. A significant median reduction in seizures from 30.5 % to 53.1 % for 50 mg/day, from 32.5 % to 37.2 % for 100 mg/day and 35.6 % for 200 mg/day could be demonstrated. Overall brivaracetam appears to be well-tolerated, with fatigue, dizziness and somnolence being the main adverse side effects. An immediate change from levetiracetam to brivaracetam at a conversion ratio of 10:1 to 15:1 seems feasible and could alleviate behavioral side effects related to treatment with levetiracetam. A swift permeability into brain tissue and a faster onset of action compared to levetiracetam suggest that brivaracetam could be useful in emergency situations. PMID: 27389600 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Der Nervenarzt - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Nervenarzt Source Type: research