COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW AND STUDY ON ANTI EPILEPTIC DRUG LEVETIRACETAM

Abstract

Levetiracetam is an antiepileptic drug approved for use as an adjunctive agent in partial-onset seizures in adults. This
approval was recently extended to children over 4 years of age. Among the currently approved antiepileptic drugs,
levetiracetam is unique in its mechanism of action. Its CNS binding site, the synaptic vesicle protein SV2A, was
discovered recently. Levetiracetam is a new anticonvulsant agent with a favourable tolerability profile and a low potential
for drug interactions. It has shown efficacy as adjunctive therapy in patients with treatment-refractory partial onset seizures
with or without secondary generalisation in clinical trials. In most studies of levetiracetam when given with other seizure
medicines, 20 to 40% of people had at least a 50% decrease in their seizures. (This means that the number of seizures each
month was at least cut in half.) Most people did not have many problems with side effects in these studies. Direct
comparative trials with other anticonvulsant agents are not yet available, but placebo-controlled clinical evidence to date
suggests that levetiracetam (1000, 2000 and 3000 mg/day) is a useful option as adjunctive therapy in patients with this
subtype of epilepsy.