Clinical experience of levetiracetam monotherapy for adults with epilepsy: 1-year follow-up study

We identified 46 patients with a history of partial seizures, with and without secondarily generalization, who received levetiracetam (LEV) (Keppra) monotherapy. Patients began LEV either as first line therapy (n=11) or were converted to LEV monotherapy (n=35) after failing prior antiepileptic medications (AEDs). Patients were followed up to 12 months after LEV started. The majority of these patients were able to continue on LEV and a small number of patients discontinued LEV secondary to lack of efficacy. One third of the non-seizure free group at 6 months of follow-up had worse seizure control at 12 months and two thirds had the same or better seizure control. Our 1-year follow-up data of LEV as monotherapy suggests that LEV can be effective and well tolerated in adults with either new or difficult to control epilepsy. A prospective, large, long-term double-blind study is needed to confirm this finding.