Within a field meeting of experts from the Russian branch of the League Against Epilepsy (RLAE), diagnostic and treatment aspects of epilepsy were discussed with the emphasis on the female population (girls, women of childbearing and older ages). All experts underscored the special features and unique needs of female patients with epilepsy. Experimental and clinical studies on efficacy and safety of traditional and novel antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) applied to women with epilepsy were discussed. It was commonly agreed that the new generation of AEDs did not yet find an appropriate place in the clinical practice, and that they were mainly used as add-on therapy in order to overcome drug resistance. The current use of AEDs in the treatment of epilepsy is, by large, not gender-specific and is not related enough to age, sociodemographic characteristics, and comorbid disorders. It should be noted that the new AEDs are addressed specifically to individual, socio-demographic, gender and clinical features of the patient. The potential of some AEDs (lamotrigine), in fact, remains underestimated by practitioners. Due to the current restrictions in using valproic acid, lamotrigine is the alternative medication for women with epilepsy. Having a balanced profile of efficacy and safety, lamotrigine is recommended as the first choice drug for initial therapy, as well as an alternative monotherapy for epilepsy in women.These data were presented at the Russian League Against Epilepsy (RLAE) on-site meeting “Epilepsy and Woman” 18 September 2019 (Ohrid, Makedonia).
On March 18, 2021, an online council of experts in the field of epilepsy treatment was held, dedicated to the use of perampanel in the additional therapy of focal seizures (FS) and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures (PGTCS) in children 4–12 years old. During the event, the features of the use of perampanel in this group of patients were discussed, considering the specifics of everyday clinical practice, current possibilities of PGTCS and FS therapy in children, its goals, as well as unsolved problems in the treatment of pediatric patients with PGTCS and FS. Particular attention was paid to the role of perampanel in the treatment of PGTCS and FS in children and its effectiveness in specific types of focal seizures.
There is a number of unsolved issues in management of epilepsy associated with primary and metastatic brain tumors (BTs). In particular, no consensus approaches to treatment of patients with epilepsy associated with BTs have been proposed regarding use of current anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs). The review presents the relevant data on epidemiology, features of clinically manifested epilepsy at varying stages of BTs, aspects of drug-drug interaction between AEDs and anti-tumor agents, AED-related effects on cognitive functions as well as quality of life in patients with epilepsy associated with BTs. Levetiracetam and valproic acid comprise the first-line drugs for treating seizures in patients with BTs. It is unreasonable to use AEDs acting as hepatic microsomal enzyme inducers for therapy of epileptic seizures in BTs, because it may decrease efficacy of chemotherapy agents and glucocorticoids along with elevated rate of side effects. Perampanel acting as a selective noncompetitive AMPA receptor antagonist, may be one of the drugs of choice for the adjunctive therapy of epileptic seizures associated with BTs.
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