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-8-35-b 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-8-5-5 Seizure Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Felbamate in Intractable Childhood Epilepsy 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 05 1994 01 06 2016 8 5 35 36 Copyright: © 1994 The Author(s) 1994 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. Antiepileptic drugs in development: prospects for the near future

Of 51 children with intractable seizures treated for two months with add on felbamate (50-75 mg/kg/day) at the Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital, Atlanta, GA, 51% responded with improved seizure control, 22% were unchanged, and 28% had increased seizure frequency.

 Intractable Seizures Included Anorexia Choreoathetosis

Of 51 children with intractable seizures treated for two months with add on felbamate (50-75 mg/kg/day) at the Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital, Atlanta, GA, 51% responded with improved seizure control, 22% were unchanged, and 28% had increased seizure frequency. Significant insomnia limited the usefulness of felbamate in 39% of children. Other adverse effects included anorexia, hyperactivity, and choreoathetosis. [1]

COMMENT. Clinically significant weight loss and anorexia were troublesome side effects during a trial of felbamate in 68 children and adults with intractable seizures at Rush-Presbyterian-St Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago [2]. Insomnia was reported in 25% of felbamate-treated patients in a further study of 16 patients. [3]

Gabapentin (Neurontin), another newer anticonvulsant, recently approved and introduced for treatment of partial and secondarily generalized seizures in children older than 12 years and in adults, was found to be safe and well-tolerated as monotherapy in a multicenter study [4]. Adverse effects have been minor and psychometric testing revealed no cognitive impairments. In follow-up studies > 1 year, there was no evidence of chronic toxicity. Unlike other anticonvulsants, gabapentin is not metabolized by the liver and is free of interactions with other drugs. [5]

 Trevathan E Febamate: Short-term efficiacy and side effects in 51 children with intractable epilepsy Neurology 1994 April 44 Suppl 2 A273 Waicosky K Weight loss in patients taking felbamate Neurology 1994 April 44 Suppl 2 A296 Luciano D Neurology 1994 April 44 Suppl 2 A296 Hayes A An open-label multicenter study of gabapentin (Neurontin) monotherapy and safety in medically refractory patients with partial seizures Neurology 1994 April 44 Suppl 2 A204 Leppik IE Antiepileptic drugs in development: prospects for the near future Epilepsia 1994 35 Suppl 4 S29 40 8174517 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1994.tb05953.x