New data presented by Eisai at the American Epilepsy Society (AES) annual meeting highlight efficacy and safety of perampanel to treat most severe form of epilepsy Eisai presents new Phase III data at the American Epilepsy Society (AES) Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, of Fycompa (perampanel) as adjunctive therapy for primary generalised tonic-clonic seizures (PGTC). Perampanel is currently indicated for the adjunctive treatment of partial onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalised seizures, in patients with epilepsy aged 12 years and older.[1] Perampanel is the only licensed anti-epileptic drug (AED) to selectively target AMPA receptors, a protein in the brain which plays a critical role in the spread of seizures.[1] This mechanism of action is different to all other, currently available AEDs. In addition, perampanel has the added benefit of convenient, once-daily dosing at bedtime[1] and, significantly, is the only new-generation partial epilepsy treatment approved to treat adolescents (>12 years) with epilepsy from launch. "This research has underlined the potential that perampanel has for people living with primary generalised tonic-clonic seizures. These data, together with the novel mechanism of action of perampanel and the convenience of a once-daily dose at bedtime, make it an important prospective treatment for people living … Continue reading →

In 1921, an endocrinologist named Dr Henry Rawle Geyelin arrived at the annual meeting of the American Medical Association to deliver a talk on therapeutic fasting in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Ninety years later, Geyelin would probably be surprised to find that the same diet is being heralded as the latest magic weight-loss programme. The ketogenic diet has been called the new Atkins and is being taken up by an increasing number of people. But Professor Thomas Seyfried from Boston College, who has conducted research on the regimen, urges caution. This diet is not to be taken lightly and there are healthcare professionals who work specifically in administering it, he says. Done incorrectly, you can alter your blood lipid parameters, which is not healthy. But when done the correct way,the blood parameters for the heart look beautiful. That the diet exists at all is down to the persistence of Geyelin, who was also one of the first doctors in New York to use insulin as a treatment for diabetes. But his ideas were not new. The ancient Greeks had discovered that one of the best ways to manage epileptic seizures was to stop eating, a finding that particularly fascinated … Continue reading →

BRUSSELS, Dec. 8,2014 /PRNewswire/ --Today UCB announced the primary efficacy and safety data from the latest Phase 3 study evaluating brivaracetam (fixed doses of 100 and 200 mg/day with no up-titration) as adjunctive treatment in adult epilepsy patients with partial-onset seizures.1 This study with brivaracetam represents the largest Phase 3 study conducted in epilepsy patients with partial-onset seizures. Brivaracetam is an investigational antiepileptic drug (AED) and is not approved by any regulatory authority worldwide. This study showed statistical significance for the two primary endpoints (p … Continue reading →

Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Embargoed for release until December 7, 2014 10:45 AM PT / 1:45 PM ET Newswise SEATTLE, December 7, 2014 Despite recent advances in anti-epileptic drug (AED) development, many adults with epilepsy continue to struggle with seizure control. New findings from a phase 3 clinical trial (Poster 2.417) to be unveiled at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, suggest an additional therapeutic option may be coming down the pike. Researchers from the Mid-Atlantic Epilepsy and Sleep Center and other participating medical centers performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in the United States and Europe on the efficacy and safety of the drug brivaracetam, an analog of the commonly used AED levetiracetam, in adults with poorly controlled partial onset seizures. This first presentation of primary study results from the latest Phase 3 brivaracetam study is highly anticipated in the epilepsy community. The two primary outcomes in this study evaluating adjunctive brivaracetam in the treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults with epilepsy were statistically significant and clinically relevant, said Dr. Pavel Klein, director, Mid-Atlantic Epilepsy and Sleep Center. The authors evaluated fixed doses of 100mg/day or 200 mg/day brivaracetam as an adjunctive treatment … Continue reading →