ORCiD

Adam M. Kaye: 0000-0002-7224-3322

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Health Psychology Research

ISSN

2420-8124

Volume

10

Issue

5

DOI

10.52965/001c.56782

First Page

56782

Last Page

56782

Publication Date

1-28-2023

Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Seizures are a hyperexcitable, and hypersynchronous imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory factors (E/I imbalance) in neurotransmission, and epilepsy is the recurrent manifestation of seizures within a reasonable time frame and without being attributable to a reversible cause. Brivaracetam is a derivative of the antiepileptic agent, levetiracetam, that is used as adjuvant therapy for focal onset seizures. It was approved by the FDA in 2016 and has shown promising results with minimal adverse effect reactions in clinical trials.

RECENT FINDINGS: Brivaracetam has been used in multiple clinical trials at various dosages in adults that have partial-onset seizures refractory to conventional treatment. A meta-analysis in 2016 showed that brivaracetam as adjunctive therapy was statically significant in its reduction of adults with drug-refractory seizure frequency.

CONCLUSION: The treatment of epilepsy with pharmacologic agents is a difficult task due to balancing the efficacy of the drug with the side effect profile that will allow for the best quality of life for the patient. There are approximately 30 antiepileptic agents for clinicians to choose from. Brivaracetam is a novel antiepileptic agent that was approved for use by the FDA in 2016 and is showing promising results as monotherapy and adjunctive therapy in individuals with drug-refractory focal seizures while minimizing adverse drug reactions.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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