1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-13-14-b 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-13-2-9 Antiepileptic Drugs Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Topiramate and Other AED Effects on Cognition http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 02 1999 01 05 2016 13 2 14 15 Copyright: © 1999 The Author(s) 1999 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Cognitive effects of topiramate, gabapentin, and lamotrigine in healthy young adults

The acute and steady-state cognitive effects of three new antiepileptic drugs (AED), gabapentin, lamotrigine, and topiramate, were studied in healthy young adults at the University of Alabama Epilepsy Center, Birmingham, AL.

 Antiepileptic Drugs Tests of Attention and Memory, Topiramate Gabapentin

The acute and steady-state cognitive effects of three new antiepileptic drugs (AED), gabapentin, lamotrigine, and topiramate, were studied in healthy young adults at the University of Alabama Epilepsy Center, Birmingham, AL. Compared with baseline tests of attention and memory, topiramate (TPM) caused statistically significant declines on measures of attention and word fluency at acute doses, whereas gabapentin (GBP) and lamotrigine (LTG) had minimal effects on performance. Only topiramate subjects had persistent neurocognitive impairments when tested after 2 and 4 weeks of drug administration. The TPM group’s verbal fluency rate dropped an average of 50% per subject, and the visual attention task showed a threefold increase in rate of errors. The adverse effects of TPM were not explained by sedation. Mead blood levels by the 4-week test period were within clinical therapeutic ranges: TPM (11 mcg/mL); LTG (8.1); and GBP (9.6). [1]

COMMENT. The adverse effects on cognitive functioning caused by topiramate in healthy young adults have also been observed in patients treated for epilepsy. The potential long-term effects beyond one month were not addressed. Early-onset side effects may subside and may be less evident when the drug is introduced more slowly.

Martin R Kuzniecky R Ho S Hetherington H Pan J Sinclair K Cognitive effects of topiramate, gabapentin, and lamotrigine in healthy young adults Neurology 1999 Jan 15 52 2 321 7 10.1212/WNL.52.2.321 9932951