Objective: Individuals with Dravet syndrome (DS) experience frequent pharmacoresistant seizures beginning in infancy. Most exhibit poor neurodevelopmental outcomes including motor function difficulties, behavior problems, and cognitive impairment. Cognitive deficits in children with DS have been associated with seizure frequency and antiseizure medication (ASM) use.Recent research in children and young adults with DS has begun to examine the role of executive functions (EFs), as these include higher-order cognitive functions and may mediate the relationship between risk factors and cognitive impairment. Current conceptualizations, however, of EFs involve the broader self-regulation of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional domains. We explored relationships between reduction in convulsive seizure frequency and everyday EFs in a subset of children and young adults with DS treated with adjunctive fenfluramine for 1 year. Methods: This is a post-hoc analysis of data from children and young adults with Dravet syndrome aged 5-18 years who participated in a phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (core study) followed by completion of at least 1 year of fenfluramine treatment in an open-label extension (OLE) study. Eligible children and young adults started the OLE study at 0.2 mg/kg/day fenfluramine and were titrated to optimal seizure control and tolerability (maximum daily dose: 26 mg/day). Parents/caregivers documented convulsive seizure frequency per 28 days (i.e., monthly convulsive seizure frequency [MCSF]) by electronic diary. A parent/caregiver for each child also completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF Ò ) parent form, a questionnaire capturing parents'/caregivers' perceptions of everyday EF that was included as a safety measure to assess treatment-related adverse effects on EF during the trial. Ratings on BRIEF Ò were mapped to the current edition, the BRIEF Ò 2 parent form, and were used to calculate T-scores for the Behavior Regulation Index (BRI), Emotion Regulation Index (ERI), Cognitive Regulation Index (CRI), and Global Executive Composite (GEC). Change in BRIEF Ò 2 T-scores from baseline in the core study to Year 1 of the OLE study was calculated. Spearman's rho correlation coefficients assessed associations between change in BRIEF Ò 2 indexes/composite T-scores and percentage change in MCSF. Children and young adults were divided into 2 groups based on percentage of MCSF reduction achieved from pre-randomization baseline in the core study to Year 1 of the OLE study: <50% and !50% MCSF reduction. Changes in the distribution of BRIEF Ò 2 indexes/composite T-scores were compared between MCSF reduction groups using Mann-Whitney U tests. The proportions of children and young adults in these groups who showed clinically meaningful improvement in everyday EF, defined as
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