Efficacy and safety of pregabalin in refractory focal epilepsy with and without comorbid anxiety disorders - Results of an open-label, parallel group, investigator-initiated, proof-of-concept study

Christian Brandt, Martin Schoendienst, Monika Trentowska, Mario Schrecke, Nora Fueratsch, Karin Witte-Boelt, Bernd Pohlmann-Eden, Theodor W. May

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Anxiety disorders are prevalent in people with epilepsy and severely influence daily living and quality of life. Pregabalin (PGB) is licensed in Germany for the add on-treatment of focal epilepsy and for generalized anxiety disorder in adults. To our knowledge, PGB has not been studied before in patients with epilepsy and comorbid anxiety disorder.We included 41 adult patients with focal epilepsy in a monocentric, noncontrolled open-label study adding up to 600. mg of PGB to an antiepileptic baseline medication. Patients were allocated to two groups: patients with epilepsy plus anxiety disorder (EAG) and patients with epilepsy only (EOG). Endpoints were responder rate, seizure frequency, adverse events, and anxiety symptoms.The responder rate in the EAG was higher compared to that in the EOG (per protocol population: 9 [75.0%] vs. 2 [12.5%], p. =0.001). Improvements in several psychological scales were found.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)298-304
Number of pages7
JournalEpilepsy and Behavior
Volume29
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2013

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
TM has participated in research projects with unrestricted grants from Desitin , Eisai , GSK , Janssen-Cilag , Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis , and UCB .

Funding Information:
CB served on scientific advisory boards for Eisai, Otsuka, UCB, and Pfizer; received funding for trips from UCB and Pfizer; received honoraria from serving on steering committees for Pfizer and Desitin and for being a speaker for Pfizer, Desitin, Eisai, UCB, and GSK; and received research support from Pfizer.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Neurology
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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