[Perampanel as a therapy option in patients with epilepsy]

This article describes a monocentric retrospective analysis of clinical experience with the latest antiepileptic drug perampanel with non-competitive modulation of postsynaptic AMPA receptors.

Evaluation of electronic medical charts of patients newly treated with perampanel between 2012 and 2014 at the epilepsy center of the University Hospital Freiburg regarding effectiveness and tolerability.

A total of 85 patients (45 male, mean age 37.4 years, range 14-80 years) with therapy resistance to an average of 6 antiepileptic medications were newly treated with add-on perampanel. Of the patients 35 % experienced a relevant reduction in seizures. The most commonly reported side effects were tiredness (32.5 %), dizziness (24.5 %) and irritability (10.5 %). The dosages resulting in a significant reduction in seizures which varied between patients from 4 to 12 mg/day. Even multidrug-resistant patients who had not benefited from vagus nerve and deep brain stimulation, profited from add-on treatment with perampanel.

In this cohort, even epilepsy patients who did not respond to multiple previous antiepileptic treatment profited from add-on therapy with the new mode of action of perampanel.