Abstract
Objective: Limited research has focused to date on daytime sleepiness in epileptic patients treated with either conventional or newer antiepileptic drugs. We evaluated the level of vigilance in 15 consecutive, newly diagnosed and never medicated adult epileptic patients, receiving initial monotherapy with lamotrigine (LTG). Methods: Patients underwent the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT), visual reaction times (VRT) and Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) on two separate occasions, i.e. before and 2 months after LTG treatment. A group of 15 age-matched healthy volunteers was taken as control. Results: At baseline, mean sleep latencies on the MSLT were comparable in epileptic patients and in controls. In patients, 2 months after monotherapy with LTG 200 mg/day, MSLT scores did not significantly change as compared with pre-treatment values. Accordingly, subjective evaluation of vigilance by the SSS and psychomotor performance by VRT were superimposable in controls and in untreated patients, and did not change in patients after LTG treatment. Conclusions: These results suggest that in adult, newly diagnosed epileptic patients initial monotherapy with LTG does not impair vigilance.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
