The Effectivety, Safety and Tolerability Profile of Lacosamide Therapy in Refractory Epilepsy: Premarketing Experience

Abstract

Objectives: Lacosamide is a novel antiepileptic drug used in partial refractory epilepsy patients. Methods: We searched retrospectively 1100 patients who have follow up in Antalya Education and Research Hospital Epilepsy Departmant between August 2011 and December 2014 and evaluated 14 patients with refractory partial epilepsy who have been using lacosamide which has been obtained abroad by the Turkish Pharmacists' Association before placing on the market in Turkey. Reduction in seizure frequancy was divided in two groups as less than 50% and more than 50%. Results: Nine (64.2%) of 14 patients were male and the remainder were female (35.7%). Mean age was 27.14 +/- 7.7 (min. 21, max. 47). Patients were being treated for an average of four antiepileptic drugs (min. 3, max. 5) before the begining of lacosamide. We titrated the dosage of lacosamide from 100mg/day to 400mg/day (mean 323 +/- 30.2 mg/day). The patients had been followed up for a mean of 24 months. Lacosamide reduced the seizure frequancy in five (35.7%) patients but not the other nine (64.2%) patients. Side effects observed in five patients dizziness was the most frequent. Conclusion: Lacosamide can be effective and safe in patients with partial refractory epilepsy if it was combined appropriately with the other antiepileptic drugs. We believe that we need prospective, randomised, multicenter and longer follow up studies to evaluate the safety and effectivety profile of lacosamide on seizure control.