Researchers have discovered a medication that can be used to successfully prevent seizures in patients who have suffered stroke or traumatic brain injury. This medication—the generic levetiracetam, marketed as Keppra—is found to be a desirable alternative to the traditional treatment Dilantin (generic phenytoin) because it presents a lower risk of side effects. Dilantin, though available the market for decades, is known to present the risk of rare but serious side effects including severe skin diseases.
In addition to posing fewer side effect risks than Dilantin, Keppra was also found to improve long-term outcomes for patients following stroke or traumatic brain injury.
This recent study, conducted by researchers at the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute (UCNI) at University Hospital, will be published in the April 2010 issue of the journal, Neurocritical Care.
This study of anti-seizure medications is one of many studies this research team is conducting in an effort to improve the treatment and prognosis of patients following serious brain injury. Because seizures are a major complication following such injuries—affecting 25 to 30 percent of all patients after stroke or brain injury—the researchers focused on medications that would provide the best outcome with the lowest risk of side effects.
Prior to this study, Keppra was considered an effective medication to treat epilepsy but had not been conclusively proven effective in preventing seizures in patients following stroke or brain injury. While Dilantin has long been the standard preventative treatment, its side effect risks make it less desirable in some patient populations. Thus, the researchers were interested in establishing the safety and efficacy of Keppra in preventing seizures in this specific patient population.
Their study confirms the benefits of using Keppra over Dilantin in preventing seizures among traumatic brain injury and bleeding stroke patients.