Abstracts

RATIONALE:_ Symptomatic partial epilepsies (SPE) in children are often intractable and poorly controlled with standard antiepileptic drugs. METHODS:_ 23 children with intractable SPE who had failed on other standard anti-epileptic drugs were treated with topiramate as an add-on terapy. The mean duration of topiramate therapy was 11 months (range: 9-14 months). Age ranged 3 to 16 years. 7 patients had cortical dysplasias, 6 had tuberous sclerosis, 4 hypoxic-ischemic encephalophaty, 3 Sturge-Weber syndrome, and 8 static encephalophaties. They had been taking an average of 4 antiepileptic drugs (range: 2 to 8), and had an average of 42 seizures per month (range: 25 to 98 ). Doses used were in the range of 3 to 5 mg/Kg/day. RESULTS: Seizures reduction rate was as follows: 1 patient had 90% reduction, 4 patients had 75% reduction, 12 had over 50% reduction, and 4 had better than 25% reduction. 7 patients did not respond and discontinued the treatment prematurely due to the lack of efficacy. No patients experienced renal, hepatic, or haematological side effects. The most common adverse effects were decreased appetite and weight loss at initiation of therapy. Only one had lost over 10% of body weight. A transient and self-limited lethargy was observed in 3 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience suggests that topiramate is an effective and safe adjuntive therapy for children with SPE.