LACOSAMIDE AS ADJUVANT THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH DIFFICULT-TO-CONTROL EPILEPSY

Abstract

Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease in the world, with prevalence of 1 to 2% and may have physical, social and emotional consequences. Lacosamide has been acting as an adjuvant therapy in the control of seizures, improving the patients' quality of life. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Lacosamide (100mg, 200mg and 400mg) in the adjuvant treatment of patients with difficulty to control epilepsy. Methodology: This is an interventional and longitudinal study. Held at the Foundation of Neurology and Neurosurgery-Brain Institute (FNNIC), started in July 2016. The sample population is random, non-probabilistic and for convenience. We selected 13 patients with convulsive seizures of difficult control from an outpatient clinic specialized in epilepsy. Lacosamide was associated with other prior-use medications which were not modified during the study. The dose of the drug was increased according to clinical response and tolerance. Results: Thirteen patients were selected, of whom had the following side effects: 8 presented dizziness, 6 nausea, 5 vertigo, 2 diplopia and 1 headache. 4 had no side effects. The therapeutic regimen ranged from 100mg / day to 400mg / day. We observed that the median of the seizures presented a decrease when we compared the basal period with the titration and maintenance period. Regarding the dose used, we observed that during the titration period, patients who used 100mg / day presented a median number of attacks less than patients who used a dose greater than 100mg / day (P = 0.01). Conclusion: Epilepsy is a disease that affects patients' quality of life, mainly due to the emotional and social damages that it causes. Therefore, effective control of seizures is important in order to minimize damage to the patient. We believe that Lacosamide is useful for the adjunctive treatment in patients with difficult-to-control seizures.