A comparative study of vigabatrin vs. carbamazepine in monotherapy of newly diagnosed partial seizures in children.
Journal Title: Pharmacological Reports - Year 2005, Vol 57, Issue 5
Abstract
Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a drug of choice for the treatment of simple or complex partial seizures and secondary generalized seizures in adults and children. Vigabatrin (VGB) is a relatively new second line antiepileptic drug and was first registered for use in Poland more than ten years ago. Few reports have been published on the comparison of efficacy of VGB in children with epilepsy. The objective of this study is to evaluate the safety, efficacy and EEG effects of initial VGB monotherapy compared with initial CBZ monotherapy in children with newly diagnosed epilepsy. We present results of a prospective, outpatient and open study carried out in the University Hospital Center in Bialystok. Twenty-six children with partial epilepsy treated with VGB and 28 patients treated with CBZ were studied. The evaluation of the efficacy of the two drugs did not reveal any significant differences. Very good (reduction > 75%) seizure control was achieved in 22 out of 26 patients (84.6%) in the VGB group. One patient had a 50-75% decrease of seizures (good effect), similarly one child had a 25-50% reduction of seizures (mild effect). In two patients, we observed increased seizures (myoclonic jerks). Very good seizure control was achieved in 17 out of 28 patients (60.7%) in the CBZ group. Good seizure control was achieved in 5 out of 28 patients (17.8%) and mild control was seen in two children. No improvement was observed in 4 (14%) of the patients. The EEG background activity was improved in VGB-treated patients. No effect on the EEG background activity was observed in CBZ-treated children. VGB seems to be a safe and effective antiepileptic drug as primary monotherapy for epilepsy in children with similar proportion of side effects as CBZ.
Authors and Affiliations
Wojciech Sobaniec, Jolanta Strzelecka, Joanna Śmigielska-Kuzia, Leszek Boćkowski
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP139040
- DOI -
- Views 126
- Downloads 0
Impact of postnatal dexamethasone on psychotomimetic effects of MK-801 measured on adult rats.
The present study investigates the impact of dexamethasone (DEX) given in tapering doses in the postnatal period on MK-801-induced locomotor activity and MK-801-evoked deficits of sensorimotor gating of adult rats (60 da...
Renal vascular cytochrome P450-derived eicosanoids in androgen-induced hypertension.
Androgen has been linked to higher incidence of cardiovascular disease based on the simple observation that men have more cardiovascular and renal events than women at similar ages. The Cytochrome P450 (CYP)-derived eico...
Biliverdin reductase: new features of an old enzyme and its potential therapeutic significance.
Biliverdin reductase (BVR) was known for a long time solely as an enzyme converting biliverdin to bilirubin, the major physiological antioxidant. Recent years revealed unique features of this protein which are not relate...
Delta opioid receptors contribute to the cardiorespiratory effects of biphalin in anesthetized rats.
Biphalin expresses almost equal affinity for μ- and δ-opioid receptors. The aim of this study was to delineate a possible role of δ-opioid receptors in the cardio-respiratory effects of systemic injection of biphalin in...
Medium supplementation with zinc enables detection of imipramine-induced adaptation in glycine/NMDA receptors labeled with [3H]L-689,560.
Antidepressant drugs after chronic administration induce adaptive changes in the NMDA receptor complex. Radioligand-receptorbinding studies using [3H]5,7-dichlorokynurenic acid demonstrated a "down-regulation" of the gly...