The safety and tolerability of galantamine in patients with epilepsy and memory difficulties

Individuals with epilepsy commonly experience memory loss. We investigated the safety and tolerability of galantamine in treatment of memory loss in a pilot study of 28 patients with epilepsy, randomly assigned to galantamine (n=13) or placebo (n=15) and followed for a total of 12 weeks. Participants underwent blinded memory assessment at baseline and 12 weeks (Selective Reminding Test, 7/24 Spatial Recall). One participant in the galantamine group had a suspected recurrence of brain neoplasm and increased seizures; all other participants receiving galantamine showed no increase in seizure activity during the trial. Patients in both groups reported mild, tolerable side effects (headache, appetite suppression), with no difference between groups. No significant differences were observed on the memory measures when both groups were retested at Week 12. Galantamine appears to be safe and tolerable in patients with epilepsy. Further studies with larger samples and comparison with other cholinesterase inhibitors should be considered.