Article: Mayo Clinic Finds it Generally Safe to Withdraw Anti-Seizure Medication in Children with Epilepsy

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Dear group,

It has been a long time since I read and posted in .

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Mayo Clinic Finds it Generally Safe

to Withdraw Anti-Seizure Medication in Children with Epilepsy

Sunday, December 07, 2008

ROCHESTER, Minn. --- A new Mayo Clinic study found that it is generally safe to

withdraw anti-seizure medications in children with epilepsy

<http://www.mayoclinic.org/epilepsy/>

who have achieved seizure-freedom while on the medication. Researchers

found that these children were not at high risk of subsequently

developing intractable epilepsy. The study will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 7,

at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in Seattle.

     *VIDEO ALERT:* Additional audio and video resources, including

     excerpts from an interview with Dr. Nickels describing the

     research, are available on the Mayo Clinic News Blog

 

   <http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2008/12/04/withdrawal-of-anti-seizure-medicat\

ion-in-children-with-epilepsy-is-generally-safe/>.

Epilepsy

is a disorder characterized by the occurrence of two or more seizures.

It affects more than 3 million Americans. Approximately 10 percent of

affected children have intractable epilepsy, a condition in which

medications alone do not control seizures and seizures have a disabling

effect on quality of life.

" It is often recommended that

children with epilepsy who become seizure-free on anti-seizure

medications be withdrawn from the drugs to avoid side effects of

long-term use. Those potential side effects include cognitive slowing,

incoordination, weight change, behavioral decline, and liver damage, "

says Nickels, M.D., <http://www.mayoclinic.org/bio/14011166.html> a

Mayo Clinic pediatric neurologist

and an author of this study. " However, few previous studies had

examined the risk of intractable epilepsy following withdrawal of

anti-seizure medication, and the reported risks varied widely. "

Dr. Nickels and a team of Mayo Clinic researchers set out to determine the

frequency of intractable epilepsy in children

who withdrew from anti-seizure medication after a period of

seizure-freedom. The team reviewed the records of 241 children, ages 1

month to 16 years, who were diagnosed with new-onset epilepsy between

1990 and 2000. They identified 152 children who were diagnosed and

treated with anti-seizure medication and had at least five years of

follow-up. Of those, 56 children (37 percent) achieved seizure-freedom

and were withdrawn from the medication. After an average follow-up of

eight years, 20 children (36 percent) experienced at least one seizure

recurrence. Fifteen of these children re-started the anti-seizure

medication, and eight (53 percent) achieved seizure-freedom within one

year, two (13 percent) achieved seizure-freedom after two years and

only three (20 percent) developed intractable epilepsy. Overall, only 5

percent of the 56 children who withdrew from anti-seizure medication

following seizure-freedom developed intractable epilepsy.

" The

risk of children developing intractable epilepsy after withdrawal of

anti-seizure medication was only 5 percent, which is similar to the

risk of intractable epilepsy at the time of initial diagnosis of epilepsy in

children, "

says Dr. Nickels. " Therefore, the children who achieve seizure-freedom

on anti-seizure medication should be considered for withdrawal without

high risk of intractable epilepsy. "

Other members of the Mayo Clinic research team included Elaine Wirrell, M.D.,

and Buchhalter, M.D., Ph.D.

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Sincerely,

Katharina

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Katharina Gutsche, M.A. Psycholinguistics, Dipl.-Psych.Clinical Psychology

State Licensured Naturopath (Psychotherapy)

http://stores.lulu.com/katharinagutsche

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