[Characteristics and indications of levetiracetam]

To describe the data contained in the most important studies published on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of levetiracetam, and also the main clinical trials carried out using this new antiepileptic drug.

Derived from piracetam, but with very different properties, levetiracetam is ineffective in the usual models of seizures induced in experimental animals, although it acts in models of prolonged activation, audiogenous seizures and absences and has a novel mode of action. It has pharmacokinetic properties which are nearer to that of the ideal anti epileptic drug. In clinical trials done in adults with partial epilepsies use of 1,000 to 4,000 mg of levetiracetam was significantly more effective than a placebo, and the drug was very well tolerated.

Levetiracetam is the newest antiepileptic drug to appear on the market. Its pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic characteristics are excellent. It has currently been approved for use in the polytherapy of patients with partial seizures aged over 16 years. Several studies indicate that its therapeutic spectrum is probably wider, particularly in generalized seizures such as the myoclonias, absences and seizures induced by light stimulation. Thus the indications for levetiracetam may become clear over the next few years.