Topiramate as an Adjunct in the Management of West Syndrome.

Objective: To evaluate the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of oral topiramate therapy in children with West syndrome.

Methods: The present study was designed as a prospective, observational study and was performed from July 2016 through June 2018 at a tertiary care pediatrics centre in North India. The study was approved by Institute Ethics Committee.

Results: Data on 39 children with West syndrome were analyzed. Topiramate was used as an adjunct in 38 children who failed to hormonal therapy and/or vigabatrin and as initial monotherapy in one case. The study participants had a long treatment lag to hormonal therapy (median 2 mo, IQR 1-8), a preponderance of male sex (67%) and structural etiology (87%). Nine (23%) children had a cessation of epileptic spasms at a median dose of 3.8 mg/kg/d. However, seven children with initial response had relapses. There were no significant group differences between responders and non-responders. Overall, topiramate was well tolerated. Somnolence and lethargy with decreased oral intake were commonly observed adverse effects.

Conclusions: The study observed poor effectiveness of topiramate therapy, which is partially due to a long treatment lag and a high proportion of structural etiology.