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Short-term efficacy and tolerability of rufinamide adjunctive therapy in children with refractory generalised

Se Hee Kim1, Jeong Ho Lee, Hye Won Ryu

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Clinical Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Children's Hospital, South Korea.

Epileptic Disorders : International Epilepsy Journal with Videotape
|March 28, 2013
PubMed

Insights

Rufinamide adjunctive therapy showed efficacy in children with refractory generalised epilepsies, particularly Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. However, response rates varied among epilepsy types, with Dravet syndrome and myoclonic seizures showing less improvement.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Clinical Pharmacology
  • Epileptology

Background:

  • Refractory generalised epilepsy in children presents significant treatment challenges.
  • Adjunctive therapies are crucial for managing difficult-to-treat epilepsy syndromes.
  • Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome are severe forms of childhood epilepsy.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of rufinamide as an adjunctive therapy.
  • To assess treatment response in children with various refractory generalised epilepsy types.
  • To identify patient subgroups that may benefit most or least from rufinamide.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study involving 53 children with refractory generalised epilepsy.
  • Rufinamide was administered as adjunctive therapy.
  • Seizure reduction of over 50% at three and six months defined treatment responders.

Main Results:

  • Overall response rates were 37.7% at three months and 34.0% at six months.
  • Patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and epilepsy with spasms/tonic seizures demonstrated higher response rates.
  • Subgroups with Dravet syndrome and epilepsy with myoclonic seizures showed lower responsiveness to rufinamide.

Conclusions:

  • Rufinamide is an effective and well-tolerated adjunctive treatment for many children with refractory generalised epilepsies.
  • Treatment outcomes vary significantly based on the specific epilepsy syndrome.
  • Further research is needed to optimize rufinamide use in specific pediatric epilepsy populations.

Keywords:
anticonvulsantchildrengeneralized epilepsyrufinamide

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