Prospective, open-label, add-on study of lamotrigine in 56 children with intractable generalized epilepsy

Abstract

The role of lamotrigine (LTG) in childhood epilepsy is emerging. We evaluated the efficacy and adverse effects of LTG in an open, prospective study of 56 children with generalized epilepsies. Six (11%) children became seizure-free, and 24 (43%) had greater than 50% reduction in seizure frequency. LTG was effective against a broad range of generalized seizure types. Three of 15 patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome achieved complete seizure control and eight demonstrated 50 to 99% improvement in seizure control. Increase in seizures (7) and rash (5) were the most common side effects. After valproate was discontinued, LTG therapy was resumed, with no recurrence of rash in any patient. This study suggests that LTG may be a useful drug in the treatment of generalized epilepsies in children.