Add-on topiramate in the treatment of refractory partial-onset epilepsy: clinical experience of outpatient epilepsy clinics from 11 general hospitals

Effectiveness of dose-escalated topiramate monotherapy and add-on therapy in neurosurgery-related epilepsy: A prospective study

BACKGROUND

Lesional and symptomatic causes of epilepsy are the most common neurological disorders of the brain. Topiramate effectively controls newly diagnosed epilepsy and refractory focal seizures, but high-dose topiramate does not improve seizure control. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of dose-escalated topiramate as first-line monotherapy and add-on therapy in patients with neurosurgery-related epilepsy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 55 neurosurgical patients with epilepsy were divided into monotherapy and add-on therapy groups and both groups received topiramate via the dose-escalation method. The primary efficacy outcomes were seizure-free rate and seizure response rate. Adverse events and seizure frequency were recorded.

RESULTS

The seizure response rate in the first month of monotherapy was significantly better than that of add-on therapy (89% vs 65%, P < .05), but no significant differences were found in seizure response rates between the 2 groups after 2 months of treatment. Both monotherapy and add-on therapy were effective in controlling seizures, with mean seizure frequency of 0.725 vs 0.536 and seizure-free rate of 88% vs 78.6%. Both treatments showed good improvement of seizure frequency in patients without tumor. The efficacy of monotherapy was better than that of add-on therapy (80% vs 29.2%) in patients with body mass index (BMI) ≤24. However, add-on therapy was better than monotherapy (76.7% vs 21.4%) in patients with BMI > 24. Dizziness (25.5%) and headache (16.4%) were the most common adverse events. No severe adverse event such as cognitive impairment was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Dose-escalated topiramate monotherapy and add-on therapy demonstrate good efficacy and safety, with fewer adverse events in seizure control in neurosurgical patients.

Topiramate: Effects on cognition in patients with epilepsy, migraine headache and obesity

This paper reviews the clinical implications of topiramate (TPM)-induced cognitive deficits in patients with epilepsy, migraine headache, obesity, and in normal populations, followed by reviews of the literature describing the reversal of such deficits upon medication discontinuation. It also discusses animal investigations of TPM's role of neuroprotection in brain injury. TPM's most intolerable adverse effects (AEs) are on verbal fluency and reaction time, resulting in high discontinuation rates in patients taking it for epilepsy and migraine headache. However, because TPM is so effective in the treatment of epilepsy and migraine headache, its use is expected to continue. There appears to be greater tolerance of TPM's cognitive AEs when it is used in the treatment of obesity, perhaps because of the lower doses required. Research attempting to predict the populations most vulnerable to the cognitive effects caused by TPM is ongoing. Studies suggest that one such population may include patients with a past psychiatric history. Slow titration and administration of the lowest possible doses may decrease risk of cognitive deficits.