Long-term Study With Gabapentin in Patients With Drug-Resistant Epileptic Seizures

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Abstract
Objective: To study the efficacy and safety of gabapentin in long-term treatment. Design: A 4-year follow-up study of 25 patients with visits at 3-month intervals. Setting: The patients were followed up in the outpatient unit of the University Hospital of Kuopio (Finland). Patients: We treated 25 patients with drug-resistant complex partial seizures and secondarily generalized seizures in an open-label long-term study, using gabapentin as an additional means of therapy after a 3-month double-blind, placebo-controlled phase. Thirteen patients showed no benefit from gabapentin; the study medication was discontinued after 4 to 6 months of treatment. Of the 12 patients who responded enough to continue treatment, five were withdrawn due to different reasons, one because of loss of response. Main Outcome Measures: The number of patients receiving the study drug in the follow-up and reduction of seizure frequency from baseline level as analyzed by the Wilcoxon test. Results: Seven patients received gabapentin therapy for more than 4 years. The median follow-up time was 54 months. There was a significant reduction in seizure frequency throughout the follow-up period. Five of seven patients had a greater than 50% seizure frequency reduction at 4 years, representing 20% of the 25 patients who entered the study. Conclusions: Gabapentin possesses good efficacy in long-term treatment of patients with partial and secondarily generalized epileptic seizures. It is safe to use, and it is fairly well tolerated even in long-term treatment.

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