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Science Daily – The first comprehensive comparative effectiveness clinical trial of three widely used anti-seizure drugs for childhood absence epilepsy — the most common form of epilepsy in kids — has established an evidence-based approach for initial drug therapy.
Published March 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine, data from the double-blind, randomized, comparative clinical trial fill a large information gap in the treatment of childhood absence epilepsy, also known as “petit mal” epilepsy. The research, which identifies important differences between drugs in seizure control and side effects, is expected to impact how physicians select and monitor initial therapy for children with the disorder and ultimately lead to improved outcomes.
“Involving 453 children, 32 U.S. medical centers and the National Institutes of Health, this landmark study establishes clinically important differences between the three medications most commonly used as initial therapy for childhood absence epilepsy,” said Tracy A. Glauser, M.D., the study’s lead investigator and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
Although childhood absence epilepsy is common, the comparative efficacy and tolerability of initial therapy with ethosuximide, valproic acid or lamotrigine had not been comprehensively or rigorously assessed in patients until the current clinical trial. The study is the largest pediatric epilepsy clinical trial ever funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), of the National Institutes of Health.
“Although childhood absence epilepsy is often perceived as a benign form of epilepsy, many affected children have cognitive deficits and long-term psychosocial difficulties. This study helps physicians and families make informed choices about how to approach its treatment,” said Deborah Hirtz, M.D., a co-author of the study and a program director at NINDS.
The research team found that ethosuximide provided the best combination of seizure control and fewest attentional side effects over the initial 16- to 20-week period after starting therapy. The researchers concluded ethosuximide — one of the oldest available anti-seizure medications in the U.S. — is the “sensible choice for initial monotherapy in childhood absence epilepsy.”
Children were eligible for the study if they were between 2.5 and 13 years, had newly-diagnosed childhood absence epilepsy and were free of other medical conditions, such as autism or developmental delay. Once enrolled, children were randomly assigned to take ethosuximide (156 children), valproic acid (148) or lamotrigine (149). Children, their parents and the clinical sites were all blinded to which study medication each child was taking. Study medication doses were incrementally increased until the child was either seizure free (both clinically and by a one hour video electroencephalogram, EEG) or the child reached the maximal allowable or highest tolerated dose.
The study’s primary outcome goal was to determine the “freedom-from-failure” rate for each medication, defined as being seizure free without intolerable side effects at the 16th week of treatment. A few children who still had seizures but had not yet reached either maximum allowed or tolerated dosage at the 16th week were allowed one more dosage increase and re-evaluated at the 20th week of treatment.
The study’s secondary outcome examined how the study medications affected attentional abilities in these children. Attentional abilities were measured using the Confidence Index score from the age appropriate computerized Conners’ Continuous Performance Test. Attention dysfunction was defined a Confidence Index of 0.60 or higher. The Confidence Index provides a confidence level that suggests closeness of the match to a clinical or nonclinical profile of attention deficit. An index of 0.60 corresponds to a 60 percent probability that the child has a clinically significant attention disorder.
Of the three drugs, ethosuximide’s freedom-from-failure rate was 53 percent compared to 58 percent for valproic acid and 29 percent for lamotrigine. The freedom-from-failure rates of ethosuximide and valproic acid were similar to each other and both were significantly higher than that for lamotrigine. A significantly lower percentage of children taking ethosuximide (33 percent) had abnormal Conners’ confidence index scores compared to those taking valproic acid (49 percent). Researchers concluded that ethosuximide was preferred as initial therapy because of its improved seizure control compared to lamotrigine and fewer attentional effects compared to valproic acid.
Although the clinical trial establishes a rational evidence-based approach for initial drug therapy, the researchers are careful to point out that “even the best empirical therapy fails in almost 50 percent of newly diagnosed cases.” Also, as patients with childhood absence epilepsy grow into adolescence, they are at risk to develop tonic-clonic (“grand mal”) seizures, which are resistant to treatment by ethosuximide.
“The results of this clinical trial answer important decades old questions and raise new ones” explained Dr. Glauser, also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. “We want to know why specific patients respond differently to different drugs, how we can improve our overall rate of success with initial therapy, and whether those medications that work best in the short-term continue to be the best choice over the long-term.”
According to the Epilepsy Foundation, 45,000 children in the United States under the age of 15 develop epilepsy every year. An estimated 10 to17 percent of those cases involve childhood absence epilepsy, an epilepsy syndrome in which seizures can occur dozens to hundreds of times per day. The seizures consist of sudden loss of awareness as children stop activities and stare blankly into space for 10-30 seconds. Children suffering these seizures can be unresponsive to voice and often display flickering eyelids, lip smacking or other non-voluntary movements.
Journal Reference:
- Glauser, Tracy A., Cnaan, Avital, Shinnar, Shlomo, Hirtz, Deborah G., Dlugos, Dennis, Masur, David, Clark, Peggy O., Capparelli, Edmund V., Adamson, Peter C., the Childhood Absence Epilepsy Study Group. Ethosuximide, Valproic Acid, and Lamotrigine in Childhood Absence Epilepsy. New England Journal of Medicine, 2010; 362 (9): 790 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa0902014
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100303192432.htm
Oldest Epilepsy Drug Best for Children
By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) — A landmark comparison of three drugs widely used against the most common form of childhood epilepsy finds the oldest to be the most effective.
The study of 453 children at 32 U.S. medical centers found that ethosuximide (Zarontin), one of the oldest anti-seizure medications available in the United States, is most effective at controlling what is called absence or “petit mal” epilepsy, with the fewest side effects. Valproic acid (Valproate, Depakote) came second, and the newest drug, lamotrigine (Lamictal), was third, according to a report in the March 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
“This is the first real hard evidence of comparing the three most commonly used medicines, and finds one superior to the other two,” said trial leader Dr. Tracy A. Glauser, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
About 1% of American children have epilepsy, Glauser said, and 10% of those have absence epilepsy, which causes the child to stare blankly into space for periods that may be as brief as five seconds. The bad news from the study, in which the children had frequent electroencephalograms to measure brain activity, is that they also often have problems with attention, Glauser said.
“The conventional wisdom has been that if you control the seizures, that is enough,” he said. “We found that about a third of them had attention problems when they started and that they continued. These kids need to have their seizures addressed, but also need further evaluation to have their attention problems addressed.”
The study included children aged 2.5 to 13 years, newly diagnosed with epilepsy and free of other problems, such as autism. They were randomly assigned to one of the three drugs. The study measured primarily whether they were free of seizures without intolerable side effects after 16 weeks, with a few children continuing for as long as 20 weeks. The study also measured how the drugs affected the children’s ability to pay attention.
Ethosuximide prevented seizures in 53% of the children, slightly less than the 58% freedom-from-failure rate of valproic acid but significantly better than the 29% for lamotrigine. But only 33% of those taking the older drug had significant attention problems, compared to 49% of those taking valproic acid, the researchers found.
So the treatment strategy indicated by the study — and now being followed in Cincinnati — is to start with ethosuximide, Glauser said. “If it hasn’t worked after four or five months, you need to switch medicines,” he said, with a trial of valproic acid. If that doesn’t work, either lamotrigine or a combination of drugs should be used. More than 90% of children respond to one of the regimens, Glauser added.
“It was somewhat unexpected that the oldest of the drugs had as good an effect as the other and better side effects,” said study participant Dr. Shlomo Shinnar, director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Management Center at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
“The study highlights the importance of looking not only at seizure control but also how the child does otherwise,” Shinnar said. “You want seizure control without side effects, such as problems with attention and behavior.”
“Unfortunately, even our best medications work only half the time,” Glauser noted. “We need to develop better medications or better algorithms to match children with medicines better.”
But with proper treatment, most children with the condition “go on to lead good, fulfilling lives,” Glauser said.
Source:Â http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=114001