Abstracts

Rationale: The recent development and availability of intravenous levetiracetam (LEV) affords clinicians an additional agent for the administration of a rapid therapy against partial-onset seizures. Other IV AEDs are generally initiated with a large volume load and subsequently continued at lower maintenance doses. This study is designed to evaluate whether dose dependent bolus administration of IV LEV alters interictal epileptiform activity.Methods: A small cohort of subjects were selected from the inpatient EEG monitoring unit at our institution in this double-blinded study. Following a baseline eight hour continuous EEG, these subjects each received either 1000 mg or 3000 mg of IV LEV. An additional eight hours of EEG monitoring following the bolus of IV LEV was performed. Comparisons between the two groups were made concerning the (1) density of interictal epileptiform activity and (2) global field power. Results: Preliminary data show that the high dose bolus (3000mg) of IV LEV rapidly alters the interictal epileptiform activity in subjects with partial-onset epilepsy. Conclusions: Preliminary results demonstrate that an initial bolus of 3000 mg IV LEV is effective for rapidly altering interictal epileptiform activity. Subsequent studies are necessary to establish the role of IV LEV in treating conditions such as acute breakthrough seizures and status epilepticus.