Background: The aim of this study was to assess the rate of response to long-term low-dose levetiracetam (LEV) treatment and the clinical factors associated with response.
Methods: The response to low-dose LEV of 43 patients with epilepsy (22 male, 21 female; age range, 5-39 years; median age, 13 years) was retrospectively assessed. Patients aged <15 years received <20 mg/kg/day LEV, whereas those aged ≥15 years received <1000 mg/day LEV. Clinical features were compared between responders to low-dose LEV, responders to the recommended dose, and non-responders.
Results: Of the 43 patients who received low-dose LEV, 13 (30%) showed improvement, defined as seizure cessation or >75% seizure reduction over 6 months for patients with monthly, weekly, and daily seizures; and over 1 year for patients with yearly seizures. Efficacy was maintained for >1 year in 10 (77%) of the 13 patients. Long-term response to low-dose LEV was significantly associated with older age at onset and fewer previous treatments with ineffective anti-epileptic drugs. All patients showing long-term response to low-dose LEV developed only focal seizures.
Conclusions: Titration of LEV starting from a low dose may be effective in selected patients. Once patients respond to low-dose treatment, maintenance of the effective dosage may prolong response.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ped.12753 | DOI Listing |
Biomolecules
January 2025
Department of Pharmacology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, 465 Kajii-cho, Kawaramachi-Hirokoji, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto 602-8566, Japan.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest cancers in the world. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has become a standard treatment for patients scheduled for surgical resection, but the high rate of postoperative recurrence is a critical problem. Optimization of NAC is desirable to reduce postoperative recurrence and achieve long-term survival.
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Postgraduate Research Institute of Science, Technology, Environment and Medicine, Limassol 3021, Cyprus.
Epidemiological studies have suggested that following long-term, low-dose daily aspirin (LTLDA) administration for more than 5 years at 75-100 mg/day, 20-30% of patients (50-80 years old) had a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) and about the same proportion in developing iron deficiency anemia (IDA). In cases of IDA, an increase in iron excretion is suspected, which is caused by aspirin chelating metabolites (ACMs): salicylic acid, salicyluric acid, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid. The ACMs constitute 70% of the administered aspirin dose and have much longer half-lives than aspirin in blood and tissues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A common heavy metal in many facets of daily life is aluminum (AlCl3), which can be found in food, toothpaste, cosmetics, food additives, and numerous pharmaceutical items. The hippocampus, liver, and kidneys have the highest concentrations of this powerful neurotoxin, which also accumulates over time and contributes to the development of a number of cognitive disorders. Long-term overconsumption of AlCl3 results in hepatic and renal toxicity as well as neuronal inflammation.
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January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Residues of the pesticides chlorfenapyr (CFP) and emamectin benzoate (EMB) often coexist in the environment and can be accumulated in the body. To understand the impact of these two chemicals on health, we investigated their effect on the kidneys. In this study, rats were treated with CFP and/or EMB at low/medium/high doses of 1/3/9 mg/kg/day and 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMedicine (Baltimore)
January 2025
Division of Hematology/Oncology, Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan.
Rationale: Chylothorax is a rare adverse effect that is associated with dasatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor administered for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treatment. Most reported cases have described standard dosing. In this case report, we described a 43-year-old male patient with CML who developed chylothorax after 4 years of low-dose dasatinib therapy.
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