Long‐term effectiveness of add‐on perampanel in patients with Lennox–Gastaut syndrome: A multicenter retrospective study
Sara Matricardi, Elisabetta Cesaroni, Paolo Bonanni, Nicoletta Foschi, Alfredo D’Aniello, Giancarlo Di Gennaro, Pasquale Striano, Silvia Cappanera, Sabrina Siliquini, Elena Freri, Francesca Ragona, Tiziana Granata, Francesco Deleo, Flavio Villani, Angelo Russo, Tullio Messana, Laura Siri, Irene Bagnasco, Aglaia Vignoli, Francesca Felicia Operto, Alessandro Orsini, Alice Bonuccelli, Amanda Papa, Cinzia Peruzzi, Claudio Liguori, Alberto Verrotti, Francesco Chiarelli, Carla Marini, Simona Lattanzi
Abstract
This retrospective study assessed long-term effectiveness of add-on perampanel (PER) in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS). Outcomes included time to PER failure and time to seizure relapse in responders. PER failure was defined as either discontinuation of PER or initiation of another treatment. Seizure relapse in responders was defined as occurrence of a seizure in seizure-free patients and increase of at least 50% in average monthly seizure frequency for those who were responders. Eighty-seven patients were included. Treatment failure occurred in 52 (59.8%) subjects at a median time of 12 months. Treatment failure was due to lack of efficacy in 27 (52.0%) patients, lack of tolerability in 14 (27.0%), and both reasons in 11 (21.0%). A slower titration was associated with a lower risk of PER failure compared to faster titration schedules, and the occurrence of adverse events increased the risk of treatment failure. Thirty-six patients (41.4%) were responders during a median follow-up of 11 months. Seizure relapse occurred in 13 of 36 (36.1%) patients after a median time of 21 months. The overall rate of seizure responders was 23 of 87 (26.4%) at the end of follow-up. This study provides real-world evidence on the effectiveness of PER as adjunctive treatment in LGS patients.