Lamotrigine in the adult-onset epilepsy: efficacy and long-term safety

Background
LTG is a new antiepileptic drug that is nowadays very often used in epileptic patients.

Objectives
To determine efficacy and safety of Lamotrigine (LTG) in the first five years after its marketing in patients at a third level university hospital, as well as its impact on the management of classic antiepileptic drugs (AED).

Patients and method
We reviewed retrospectively our Epilepsy Unit Database. One hundred patients were treated with LTG in a 5-year period. Efficacy was evaluated comparing seizure frequency in a 6-month period before and after LTG. The type of epilepsy, side effects, blood levels and concomitant treatments were considered in the analysis.

Results
LTG was effective in all groups of epileptic patients studied. Eighteen percent of patients became seizure-free. Seventeen percent of patients improved more than 50%. Fifty-seven percent of patients remained treated with LTG after four years of follow-up. Side effects were mild, but frequent; only four patients discontinued LTG because of adverse effects. Serum levels were usually high, but showed no relation with clinical efficacy. The mean number of AED taken per patient increased.

Conclusions
LTG is a safe an effective drug in epilepsy. It has a clear impact in the management of the epileptic patients.

CITA DEL ARTÍCULO Neurologia. 2002 Mar;17(3):136-42