Efficacy and Safety of Topiramate in the Treatment of Refractory Epilepsy in Infants and Young Children: A Multi-Center Study

Topiramate is a novel antiepileptic drug (AED) that has demonstrated that efficiency in this management of a variety of refractory epilepsy in children. The hypothesis of this research was to determine the safety and efficacy of topiramate on children of 60 months and below in age who were in infancy and refused epilepsy composed of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), infantile spasms (IS), and more other epileptic disorders. This was a multi-center study in which 65 children were involved. The outcomes revealed that topiramate was tolerable and efficacious in decreasing the amount of seizures, and an enormous percentage of children got full remission or over 50 percent decrease in seizure rate. Somnolence, reduced appetite, and behavior change were typical side effects, but the level was mild and did not last long. Children with cryptogenic and LGS related epilepsy showed better response to treatment whereas symptomatic epilepsy exhibited low response. Although the results are promising, there are safety and toxicity issues that must be resolved because metabolic changes and cognitive effects were not the subject of the study. There must be additional research to access the effectiveness of topiramate in long-term based mostly in relation to the cognitive developments and metabolic actions within young children.