Levetiracetam vs. sulthiame in benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes in childhood: A double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial (German HEAD Study)

Borggraefe, Ingo; Bonfert, Michaela; Bast, Thomas; Neubauer, Bernd A.; Schotten, Klaus; Maßmann, K; Noachtar, Soheyl; Tuxhorn, Ingrid; May, Theodor W.; Heinen, Florian

doi:10.1016/j.ejpn.2013.03.014

Cited by 47 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 29 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Four RCTs have been published: two open-label parallel group trials and two double-blind trials (Table 4) [19–22]. Most trials only included children with a well described epilepsy syndrome such as BECTS [19, 22] or absence epilepsy (childhood absence epilepsy [CAE], juvenile absence epilepsy [JAE]) [20].…”

Section: Overview Of Published Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most trials only included children with a well described epilepsy syndrome such as BECTS [19, 22] or absence epilepsy (childhood absence epilepsy [CAE], juvenile absence epilepsy [JAE]) [20]. The age at enrolment varied between 3 and 17 years.…”

Section: Overview Of Published Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The age at enrolment varied between 3 and 17 years. The maximum dosage of levetiracetam was 2000 mg/day in 12- to 17-year-old children [21] or 30 mg/kg/day [19, 20, 22]. One trial was placebo-controlled [20] and, for obvious ethical reasons [54], the duration of the double-blind period was only 2 weeks, which is much shorter than the duration of the other trials (24–78 weeks).…”

Section: Overview Of Published Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Levetiracetam Monotherapy in Children with Epilepsy: A Systematic Review

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundLevetiracetam, a second-generation anti-epileptic drug (AED) with a good efficacy and safety profile, is licensed as monotherapy for adults and children older than 16 years with focal seizures with or without secondary generalization. However, it is increasingly being used off-label in younger children.ObjectivesWe critically reviewed the available evidence and discuss the present status of levetiracetam monotherapy in children 0–16 years old.Data SourcesWe systematically searched the literature using PubMed, Web of Science and Embase up to August 2014 for articles on levetiracetam monotherapy in children. Keywords were levetiracetam, monotherapy and child*. The titles and abstracts of 532 articles were evaluated by AW, of which 480 were excluded. The full texts of the other 52 articles were assessed for relevance.ResultsWe covered one review, one opinion statement and 32 studies in this review, including four randomized controlled trials, ten open-label prospective studies, eight retrospective studies, and ten case reports. The formal evidence for levetiracetam monotherapy in children is minimal: it is potentially efficacious or effective as initial monotherapy in children with benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. In all of the published studies, however, efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam seemed to be good and comparable to other AEDs.ConclusionThe data of 32 studies on levetiracetam monotherapy in children were insufficient to confirm that levetiracetam is effective as initial monotherapy for different types of seizures and/or epilepsy syndromes. There is still an urgent need for well designed trials to justify the widespread use of levetiracetam monotherapy in children of all ages.

show abstract

Section: Overview Of Published Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of Published Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Overview Of Published Articlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Levetiracetam Monotherapy in Children with Epilepsy: A Systematic Review

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…7 Levetiracetam (LEV) has recently been considered as the initial monotherapy for typical BECTS. 8 The favorable pharmacokinetics and good tolerability of this drug make it an ideal option for pediatric epilepsy. 9 However, the ILAE guidelines recommend monotherapy with valproic acid (VPA) based on level C evidence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of levetiracetam and valproic acid as low-dose monotherapies for children with typical benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS)

Xiao

Deng

et al. 2014

Seizure

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…4,5 The evidence in the paediatric population was generally positive. 3,4,6,7 At the opposite end of the spectrum, geriatric patients were also shown in a Class II study to benefit from LEV monotherapy. 8 One Class II study detailed the conversion of treatment in patients with existing partial-onset epilepsy to extended-release LEV monotherapy.…”

Section: Levetiracetammentioning

confidence: 99%