Levetiracetam aggressive behavior

In a retrospective evaluation of 130 children with intractable epilepsy who had at least four seizures per month and had been treated with levetiracetam, nine reported mild-to-moderate adverse events, but only five dropped out the reason for discontinuation was excessive irritability in three patients and increased aggressiveness in the other two [201 ]. The most common complaints were irritabUity in 6/130 patients, additional aggressive behavior in two, and somnolence in one. 

Observational studies Levetiracetam monotherapy has been investigated in 35 patients with late-onset post-stroke seizures in a prospective open study [178 ]. At a mean follow-up period of 18 months, 27 patients had achieved seizure freedom. Four of 35 patients stopped taking levetiracetam because of severe adverse events drowsiness with gait disturbance and aggressive behavior in two cases, and severe psychomotor agitation with aggressive behavior in the other two patients. 

In a prospective multicenter, open, addon study, 33 children aged 4-16 years with refractory epilepsy were given levetira-cetam in addition to their previous treatment regimen [180. The retention rate was 70% after 26 weeks, with a median levetiracetam dosage of 22 mg/kg/day. Most reported adverse effects were hyperactivity (49%), somnolence (36%), irritability (33%), and aggressive behavior (27%). 

An observational study of 103 pafienfs was performed to assess cognition and behavior in children taking levetiracetam. Ninety-four patients reported adverse events, of which 47 were drug-relafed and included headache (8.7%), irritability (7.8%), aggression (6.8%), fatigue (4.9%), convulsion (3.9%), and abnormal behavior (3.9%) [91 ]. Nineteen (18.5%) patients experienced behavioral problems such as irritability, aggression, or abnormal behavior, which were attributed to levetiracetam. 

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