Comparing healthcare cost associated with the use of enzyme-inducing and non-enzyme active antiepileptic drugs in elderly patients with epilepsy in the UK: a long-term retrospective, matched cohort study.

Background: In elderly patients (≥65 years of age) with epilepsy who take medications for comorbid conditions, some antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may alter the metabolism of other treatments and increase the risk of adverse consequences and healthcare utilisation. This analysis compares healthcare costs associated with enzyme-inducing AEDs (EIAEDs) and non-enzyme active AEDs (nEAAEDs) use in elderly patients with epilepsy.

Methods: This retrospective matched cohort study used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) of UK primary care medical records, linked to the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) database.

The epidemiology of drug-resistant epilepsy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The definition of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) affects case identification and treatment, and impacts prevalence or incidence estimates and health burden estimation in epidemiology. The objective of this systematic review is to evaluate the consistency between definitions of DRE in the literature and the official definition in the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) guidelines, and to estimate the incidence, prevalence, and risk factors for DRE.

Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for observational studies of DRE published between January 1980 and July 2015.

Health care cost associated with the use of enzyme-inducing and non-enzyme-active antiepileptic drugs in the UK: a long-term retrospective matched cohort study.

Background: Some antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) induce expression of hepatic enzymes. This can contribute to comorbidities via interference with metabolic pathways and concomitant drug metabolization, thereby increasing the likelihood of health care interventions. Using medical records, we compared the direct health care cost in patients initiating epilepsy therapy with enzyme-inducing AEDs (EIAEDs) vs non-enzyme-active AEDs (nEAAEDs) over up to 12 years.

Comparative effectiveness of levetiracetam, valproate and carbamazepine among elderly patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy: subgroup analysis of the randomized, unblinded KOMET study.

Background: Few clinical trials have evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) as initial monotherapy for elderly patients.

Methods: This post-hoc subgroup analysis of data from an unblinded, randomized, 52-week superiority study (KOMET) compared the effectiveness of levetiracetam (LEV) with extended-release sodium valproate (VPA-ER) and controlled-release carbamazepine (CBZ-CR) as monotherapy in patients aged ≥ 60 years with newly diagnosed epilepsy. The physician chose VPA or CBZ as preferred standard treatment; patients were randomized to standard AEDs or LEV.

A noninterventional study evaluating the effectiveness and safety of lacosamide added to monotherapy in patients with epilepsy with partial-onset seizures in daily clinical practice: The VITOBA study.

Objective: Evidence for the efficacy and safety of adjunctive lacosamide in the treatment of partial-onset seizures (POS) was gained during placebo-controlled clinical trials in patients with treatment-resistant seizures who were taking one to three concomitant antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). The VITOBA study (NCT01098162) evaluated the effectiveness and tolerability of adjunctive lacosamide added to one baseline AED in real-world clinical practice.

Methods: We conducted a 6-month observational study at 112 sites across Germany.