Rufinamide for the adjunctive treatment of partial seizures in adults and adolescents: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Purpose: To evaluate efficacy and safety of adjunctive treatment with rufinamide 1600 mg twice daily in subjects aged > or = 16 years with refractory partial seizures.

Methods: This double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group, multicenter trial included an 8-week baseline phase and a 13-week double-blind phase. Treatment was initiated with rufinamide 400 mg twice daily or placebo; rufinamide was titrated to 1600 mg twice daily. Percentage change in partial seizure frequency was the primary outcome measure. Secondary outcome measures included total partial seizure frequency and the percentage of subjects experiencing a >/=50% reduction in partial seizure frequency.

Results: Three hundred thirteen subjects were randomized; 156 subjects received rufinamide and 157 received placebo. Rufinamide-treated subjects experienced a 20.4% median reduction in partial seizure frequency relative to baseline, while placebo-treated subjects had an increase of 1.6% (p = 0.02). Exclusion of subjects taking carbamazepine in a post hoc analysis resulted in a reduction of 29.2% versus 0.7% in the placebo group (p = 0.05), whereas the treatment difference in subjects taking carbamazepine was not significant. Of rufinamide-treated subjects, 28.2% experienced a > or = 50% decrease in partial seizure frequency versus 18.6% of placebo-treated subjects (p = 0.04). The most common adverse events associated with rufinamide treatment were dizziness, nausea, diplopia, and ataxia; they occurred primarily during the titration phase.

Discussion: Adjunctive therapy with rufinamide 3200 mg/day compared with matching placebo demonstrated efficacy and was generally well tolerated in adults with partial seizures. Further study of this agent in adults with partial seizures taking a range of baseline AEDs is warranted.