Scroll Up
Scroll Down
Play Play Play Play
Unregistered User
Click here if this is not your Personal Edition
 
Contact Us | Free E-Mail Updates | Journals | Register a colleague
 
 
Epilepsy
 
   
 
SEARCH   
Doctor's Guide Free CME
Medline
Congress Resource Centre
 

 EXPLORE :
   Most Read News
 All News  All News
 All Webcasts / CME  All Webcasts / CME
 All Cases  All Cases
 Congress Resource Centre  Congress Resource Centre
 All Medical Resources  All Medical Resources
 Medical  My Personal Edition



Warning | Privacy

 

 
 Recent news - Epilepsy
    High-Fat Ketogenic Diet Lowers Cholesterol in Children With Epilepsy - (DGNews)
    TopAbstracts in Epilepsy 08/07/2008 - (DGNews)
    Long-Term Mortality Does Not Increase in Children With Febrile Seizures - (DGNews)
    Epileptic Patients Not Receiving Sufficient Treatment in the US - (DGNews)
    FDA Approves Valproate for Bipolar Disorder, Seizures, and Migraine Headaches - (DGNews)

    News archive

     Recent webcasts/CME - Epilepsy
    • Some Anti-Epileptic Drugs May Compromise Bone Health
    • Balancing Treatment With Reproductive Health in Women With Epilepsy
    • Understanding the Ramifications of Switching Among AED's: A 2008 Clinical Update
      Seizing the Opportunity: Preserving Cognitive Function in Long-term Care Patients with Epilepsy

      Webcasts/CME archive

       Recent cases - Epilepsy
        Syncope Due to Asystole During Epilepsy. A Case Report
        Partial Trisomy 13q22-qter Associated to Leukoencephalopathy and Late Onset Generalised Epilepsy
        Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, Review of the Literature and a Case Report
        Partial Trisomy 13q22-qter Associated to Leukoencephalopathy and Late Onset Generalised Epilepsy
        Probable Causal Link Between Epilepsy and Sleep Apnea: Case Report

        Cases archive
          




        my personal edition > epilepsy > news
        divider

          E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague

        DGDispatch


        Pregabalin Shows Long-term Efficacy, Safety for Partial Seizures: Presented at AES

        By Bonnie Darves

        BOSTON, MA -- December 18, 2003 -- Patients who take the new-generation antiepileptic drug pregabalin as adjunctive therapy for partial seizure control may experience sustained efficacy without some of the troubling side effects of longstanding antiepileptics, according to new research reported here December 9th at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting.

        Pregabalin is a relatively new central-nervous-system agent that does not act on gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors as do some antiepileptics. Pregabalin was well tolerated and effective for as long as 4 years, noted the study's lead author Ahmad Beydoun, MD, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, United States.

        In the meta-analysis of 4 double blind trials involving 1,480 patients, participants took doses ranging from 75 mg to 600 mg daily (two thirds took 450 mg or more daily) administered either twice daily or three times daily. The mean age of participants was 38.2 years at baseline, and the mean seizure rate per 28 days was 18.2. The longest pregabalin exposure was 4.8 years, and nearly 60% of patients remained on the drug for more than 1 year.

        At end point, the overall responder rate was 35%. The 220 patients who remained in the trials for 2 years had an overall responder rate of 52%, and the median seizure reduction rate -- ranging from 49% to 58% -- was maintained over time, Dr. Beydoun noted.

        Over the open-label phase, 14% of patients reported a 75% improvement -- and at final observation, 8% of enrolled patients had been seizure-free for 6 months or longer.

        Although 79.5% of participants experienced treatment-related adverse events; most were mild to moderate in severity, and only 13% withdrew from the study because of adverse events. The most common were dizziness (33%) and somnolence (27%).


        [Study Title: Safety and Sustained Long-term Efficacy of Pregabalin for Partial-Onset Seizures. Abstract 2240]



        E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague   To print, use this version






        All contents Copyright (c) 1995-2008 Doctor's Guide Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.



        The NTK initiative. Physicians helping physicians identify Need-To-Know science
           Feedback
        Please rate this article: Strongly DISAGREE...Strongly AGREE NTK logo
        Question 1 - Physicians need to become aware of this information as soon as possible. Question 2 - This information is likely to have an impact on the way physicians practice medicine.
        1
        2
        3
        4
        5
        6
        7
        Send