Antimyoclonic effect of levetiracetam

Epileptic Disord. 2000 Dec;2(4):209-12.

Abstract

Treatment of severe, incapacitating action myoclonus is difficult. Piracetam has been shown to be a very potent antimyoclonic agent, but only at very high, impractical doses, ranging from 24 to 40 g/d. Levetiracetam (LEV), a new antiepileptic drug, is a structurally related compound that has a distinct pharmacological profile and appears to be efficient at much lower doses. We gave LEV, 4,000 mg/d, without titration, to three volunteers with post-anoxic myoclonus (PAM) (one case) and Unverricht-Lundborg disease (two cases), over 2, 2 and 10 weeks, respectively. LEV produced a clear abatement of myoclonus, which is demonstrated on video for the patient with post-anoxic myoclonus, without any unwanted side-effects. These preliminary findings suggest that LEV may have interesting antimyoclonic properties that deserve further investigation.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anticonvulsants / administration & dosage
  • Anticonvulsants / therapeutic use*
  • Epilepsies, Myoclonic / diagnosis
  • Epilepsies, Myoclonic / drug therapy*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Levetiracetam
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Piracetam / administration & dosage
  • Piracetam / analogs & derivatives
  • Piracetam / therapeutic use*
  • Severity of Illness Index

Substances

  • Anticonvulsants
  • Levetiracetam
  • Piracetam