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[Lamotrigine therapy in children. Retrospective study of 32 children]
Insights
Lamotrigine, an anti-epileptic drug, effectively reduced seizures in children with generalized epilepsy, including absence epilepsy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, over one year. This treatment also showed potential behavioral and cognitive benefits.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Pediatric Neurology
Background:
- Lamotrigine is a phenyltriazine derivative and a newer anti-epileptic drug.
- It functions by inhibiting voltage-sensitive sodium channels, without GABAergic action.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of lamotrigine in children with refractory epilepsy.
- To compare findings with existing literature on lamotrigine's use.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 32 children with refractory epilepsy.
- Treatment duration with lamotrigine was at least one year.
- Results were compared with published data.
Main Results:
- Lamotrigine demonstrated good efficiency (≥50% crisis reduction) in generalized epilepsy (62.5% success rate).
- Particularly effective for absence epilepsy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
- Encouraging results were observed in epilepsy with continuous spike waves during slow-wave sleep; further research is needed for partial epilepsy.
Conclusions:
- Lamotrigine maintained seizure control for one year in most pediatric patients.
- Combination therapy with sodium valproate is often recommended.
- Adverse effects were infrequent, with no observed skin rash; improvements in behavior and cognition were noted.
Background:
Lamotrigine is one of the new anti-epileptic drugs, which is a phenyltriazine derivative. It is considered to act via an inhibitory effect on voltage-sensitive sodium channels and to have no GABAergic action.
Patients And Method:
We studied its efficiency in 32 children with refractory epilepsy after a treatment of at least one year with other anti-epileptic drugs. We then compared our results with other publications.
Results:
Good efficiency (at least 50% reduction of crises) has been demonstrated for lamotrigine in children with generalized epilepsy (62.5% good results), particularly with absence epilepsy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Results are encouraging for our few patients with epilepsy with continuous spike waves during slow-wave sleep. On the other hand, more precise indications are needed in partial epilepsy.
Conclusion:
Seizure control was generally maintained during one year of lamotrigine treatment. Association to sodium valproate is relevant for most of the authors. Adverse effects are uncommon, and we did not observe any skin rash. Lastly, improvement of behaviour and cognitive functions represents another important benefit of lamotrigine.