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Daily pyridoxine (vitamin B6) was found to be an effective treatment for the behavioral adverse effects seen with the antiepileptic drug levetiracetam, according to a poster presented at the AES Annual Meeting 2017.
Treatment with levetiracetam (Keppra; UCB) has been shown to cause non-psychotic behavioral effects (eg, aggression, anger, emotional lability, anger, depression, anxiety) in clinical studies (13% in levetiracetam-treated patients vs 6% in placebo-treated). Currently, there is a lack of data regarding the treatment of behavioral effects of levetiracetam, which represents a key cause of treatment discontinuation.
For the retrospective study, Creighton University School of Medicine researchers evaluated whether pyridoxine supplementation could benefit patients who are experiencing behavioral adverse effects due to levetiracetam. The team reviewed electronic medical records of all patients in the Creighton University Epilepsy Center Clinic (2011–2015) for those taking levetiracetam. Forty-five of the 380 total patients receiving levetiracetam (median dose 1000mg daily; highest dose 4000mg daily) were initiated on pyridoxine 100mg daily for symptom control.
The data showed 11.8% of levetiracetam-treated patients experienced behavioral side effects with agitation, insomnia, and irritability being the most commonly observed. These behavioral changes were typically seen within the first month of starting levetiracetam therapy . Nearly all of the patients who received pyridoxine (42/45; 93.3%) remained on levetiracetam therapy as they saw significant improvement in their behavioral symptoms.
“This benefit is seen across the entire range of levetiracetam dosing,” lead author Kalyan Sajja noted. Supplementation with pyridoxine 100mg daily enabled continued treatment with levetiracetam in these patients. The authors added that a large multicenter, prospective, randomized-controlled trial can further validate this clinical benefit.
Visit MPR‘s conference section for more coverage of AES 2017.
Reference
Sajja K, Sankaraneni R, Galla K, Singh SP. Role of Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) in the Treatment of Levetiracetam Induced Behavioral Effects in Epilepsy Patients. Presented at AES annual meeting in Washington, DC. Abstract 1.308.
