Adjunctive rufinamide in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome: a long-term, open-label extension study
March 2nd, 2010 Posted by: admin
Kluger G, Glauser T, Krauss G, Seeruthun R, Perdomo C, Arroyo S. Adjunctive rufinamide in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome: a long-term, open-label extension study.Acta Neurol Scand: DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0404.2010.01334.x.© 2010 The Authors Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Munksgaard.Objective [ndash] This open-label extension evaluated the long-term efficacy and tolerability of rufinamide in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) who had previously completed a 12-week double-blind study.Materials and methods [ndash] In total, 124 patients (aged 4[ndash]37 years), receiving 1[ndash]3 concomitant antiepileptic drugs, were treated with rufinamide [sim]25[ndash]60 mg/kg/day. Efficacy was assessed by seizure frequency; tolerability by adverse events (AEs) and laboratory tests.Results [ndash] Overall, patients were treated with rufinamide for a median (range) of 432 (10[ndash]1149) days. Reductions in seizure frequency were observed throughout the study; during the last 12 months of treatment, 41.0% and 47.9% of patients had [ge]50% reduction in total and tonic[ndash]atonic seizure frequency, respectively. The most common AEs were vomiting (30.6%) and pyrexia (25.8%).Conclusions [ndash] In this open-label extension, rufinamide appeared to be an effective long-term adjunctive therapy for the treatment of LGS-associated seizures in children and young adults.
