Medical Uses of Keppra

Keppra and therapy of epileptic manifestations

The anticonvulsant drug Keppra (Levetiracetam) is very effective in the treatment of generalized (symptomatic and idiopathic) and focal epileptic manifestations.

In recent years, significant advances have been made in the drug treatment of epileptic seizures. However, there is a high percentage of patients for whom the prescription of a single antiepileptic drug (monotherapy) is insufficient. As a rule, with epilepsy, which is diagnosed for the first time, the use of one drug allows fixing remission in 60% of people.

In the case of ineffective use of any drug for monotherapy, the doctor prescribes another drug but it is worth noting that, as practice has shown, switching to another drug makes it possible to achieve remission in only 10% of patients. Then it is necessary to treat epilepsy in a complex therapy, with the use of several antiepileptic drugs. Most important there is a selection of effective drugs that make it possible to achieve real results of a therapy.

Currently, Keppra with an active substance levetiracetam is considered one of the most effective antiepileptic drugs for monotherapy of partial seizures in adults and for the complex therapy of myoclonic seizures in adolescents and adults, partial and tonic-clonic seizures in children.

Studying Keppra’s effectiveness in treating epileptic manifestations

Keppra has a wide range of effects and can be used for almost all cases of generalized (symptomatic and idiopathic) as well as focal epileptic manifestations. The drug is well tolerated by patients of all ages and is characterized by a high efficiency, which has been proved by numerous tests.

The recent study conducted under clinical conditions has evaluated the efficacy of Keppra in 138 patients with generalized idiopathic and partial symptomatic epilepsy under the regime of polytherapy and monotherapy. The age of the examined patients was from 16 to 65 years, and they took the drug for a period of 1 to 4 years. The results of the study, which included a number of tests and examinations (EEG-video monitoring, routine EEG, systematic neurological and clinical examination, medical history, MRI of the head brain, etc.), established rapid rates of clinical effectiveness of the drug immediately after treatment and the positive effect of Keppra on cognitive functionality.

How does Keppra act?

In fact, the study was fundamental and proved that Keppra (Levetiracetam) has an effect in cases where other antiepileptic drugs simply do not work. Such impressive success is achieved due to the special mechanism of action of this modern preparation of the new generation.

The drug Keppra (Levetiracetam):

• reduces the (epileptic) activity of the neuron,
• controls the release of neurotransmitters by binding to SV2A (synaptic vesicle glycoproteins),
• has a neuroprotective effect, as it limits the effects of excitotoxic effects of NMDA receptor intensification,
• shows antiepileptogenic characteristics at the gene level, blocking gene expression in neurons, and
• inhibits polarization paroxysmal shifts due to inhibition of K + and Ca2 + high-voltage channels.

Separately, it must be said that Keppra (Levetiracetam) is combined very well with other antiepileptic drugs, and the use of the drug in a complex therapy does not cause changes and fluctuations in the concentrations of other AEDs.

Thus, to date, the use of Keppra (Levetiracetam) guarantees safe reception and, in most cases, the high effectiveness of therapy on the first day of the use of the drug in a standard dosage of 500 mg twice a day, which is proved by the clinical practice of recent years.