Efficacy and safety of adjunctive perampanel treatment in pediatric patients with epilepsy aged 4â??12 years: A real-world study

---

Qiao Zeng
 

Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, China

: Int J Ment Health Psychiatry

Abstract

---

Methods: We performed a non-randomized, open-label, placebo-uncontrolled, real-world self-controlled study that included 216 young children (aged 4–12 years) with epilepsy who received PER as adjunctive therapy at the children’s hospital affiliated with Chongqing Medical University from July 4, 2020, to September 20, 2023. Results: (1) The efficacy rates of adjunctive PER therapy at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months were 62.8%, 67.8%, 65.3%, and 61.2%, respectively. PER showed efficacy in alleviating focal seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures, myoclonic seizures, and absence seizures. The efficacy rates for variants of self-limited epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (SeLECTS) and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) were 89.5% and 66.7%, respectively. (2) Focal non-motor onset seizures with or without impaired awareness, focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FBTCS), LGS, variants of SeLECTS, the number of concomitant antiseizure medications (ASMs), a family history of epilepsy, and focal lesions on cranial magnetic resonance imaging were independent factors affecting efficacy. The order of PER addition did not affect efficacy. The retention rates at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months were 90.3%, 86.1%, 82.9%, and 81.9%, respectively. (3) Adverse reactions occurred in 45 patients (45/216, 20.8%), with irritability/aggressive behavior (18/216, 8.3%) and somnolence (14/216, 6.5%) being the most common. Twelve patients (12/216, 5.6%) withdrew from the study because of adverse reactions. Conclusion: In young Chinese children with epilepsy, PER is effective, safe, and well-tolerated as an adjunctive therapy, making it a viable option for use with broad-spectrum ASMs.

Biography

---

Qiao Zeng has specialized in pediatric neurology, passionately improving child health. With over three years at Chongqing Children's Hospital, they've extensively followed up on epilepsy cases treated with Perampanel, completing a significant real-world study.