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| |  IEC: Anti-Epilepsy Drug, Lamictal (Lamotrigine), Has Few Cognitive Side Effects BUENOS ARIES, ARGENTINA -- May 14, 2001 -- New data, presented this week by GlaxoSmithKline at the International Epilepsy Congress (IEC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, show that the anti-epilepsy drug therapy Lamictal® (lamotrigine), when compared to valproate, is effective at controlling seizures and has the added benefit of not impairing cognitive thinking. Cognitive function while receiving anti-epilepsy drug therapy was recognized as being of overriding importance to a group of just under 300 neurologists interviewed at the European Congress on Epileptology and American Epilepsy Society meetings held last year. More than 75 percent of European physicians and 90 percent of U.S. physicians surveyed reported they would switch a patient with good seizure control to another anti-epilepsy drug therapy to avoid any side effects that might impact the thought process. Clearly, this is a major concern to many of the healthcare professionals providing treatment to epilepsy patients. While anti-epilepsy drug therapy usually controls seizures in more than 80 percent of people with epilepsy, for some patients, maintaining the desired seizure control also results in a reduction in their ability to think clearly and fully interpret all that is going on around them. Clinical studies have consistently shown that anti-epilepsy drug treatments can have adverse consequences on a patient's cognitive ability. Despite the fact that the large majority of people with epilepsy have normal intelligence, physicians still encounter a high prevalence of psychosocial problems among their epilepsy patients. Results of a large, randomized trial comparing quality-of-life measures of 394 adult epilepsy patients switched to either valproate or Lamictal as monotherapy, demonstrated that patients receiving Lamictal reported a more positive outcome relating to their ability to think clearly (p<0.05), as compared to patients randomized to valproate. Lamictal patients also reported more positive outcomes associated with emotional well-being, confidence in a social setting and the absence of fatigue (p<0.05). A second study, also presented at the IEC, supported the conclusion that Lamictal does not interfere with a patient's ability to think clearly. In addition, the data showed those patients taking Lamictal had the additional benefit of an improved cognitive-enhancing effect, and had less cognitive complaints and more positive mood changes compared to those taking either valproate or placebo. Patients in the study taking Lamictal reported that they 'felt more at ease' and more alert. The study had thirty healthy volunteers who received either a twelve-day course of Lamictal, valproate or placebo. Compared to pre-trial results, volunteers receiving Lamictal completed simple mental tasks significantly faster than volunteers receiving either valproate or placebo (p <0.03). Lamictal volunteers also had fewer complaints about impaired thinking than those receiving valproate. The results of these cognition studies suggest that Lamictal may be a valuable option in the first-line treatment of epilepsy. The cognition-enhancing effects of Lamictal should be valuable in clinical practice, especially in the treatment of chronic epilepsy, since many patients also suffer from depression, apathy and fatigue. Lamictal has more than ten years of experience in 93 countries and has been used to treat more than 2 million patients worldwide. "Patients often receive life-long anti-epilepsy medication and so even subtle changes negatively affecting thought and emotional health can have a remarkable impact over time. Physicians need to be proactive in asking their patients about the impact of anti-epilepsy drug therapy on schoolwork and employment, in addition to seizure control", said Dr Aldenkamp, Professor, Epilepsy Centre Kempenhaeghe, Heeze, The Netherlands and lead investigator of the study. Approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy (30 - 100 per 100,000). The majority of sufferers are diagnosed with epilepsy in childhood and continue to receive daily anti-epilepsy drug therapy for ten years or more. If it is a struggle to think clearly, psychological and emotional difficulties may be compounded as each day passes, throughout primary and secondary school, leaving many epilepsy patients frustrated and unhappy. SOURCE: GlaxoSmithKline Related Link: GlaxoSmithKline.
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