Long-term levetiracetam monotherapy for partial epilepsy in adults

The paper analyzes the efficiency of 3-year monotherapy with levetiracetam (LTC) (keppra) in 143 patients aged 16—73 years with partial epilepsy. LTC was used as first-line monotherapy in 71 patients (Group 1); second- or third-line monotherapy in 72 patients (Group 2) when the first-line therapy with antiepileptic drugs was insufficiently effective or poorly tolerated. The percentage of treatment retention is an integral index of the cumulative efficiency of therapy (remission + a >50% reduction in seizure frequency) minus the percent of drug discontinuation for various reasons over a given period of time. In Group 1, the retention rate was 90.1, 87.3, and 83.1 in the first, second, and third year and in Group 2, that was 75.0, 70.8, and 69.4%, respectively. LTC was found to be well tolerated. Its discontinuation because of its adverse reactions at one-year follow-up was noted in less than 5.6% (Group 1) and 8.2% (Group) of the patients. The findings suggest that the long-term use of keppra is promising in therapy for partial epilepsy.