Neuropsychological and neurophysiologic effects of carbamazepine and levitiracetam

Meador KJ, Gevins A, Loring DW, et al. Neurology 2007;69:2076-2084.

In the latest installment of the Meador AED experiments on healthy volunteers, using the time tested randomized double blind crosover study on 28 adults, levitiracetam was shown to beat CBZ byhaving less untoward effects than CBZ on all measures that differed.

Details: CBZ mean maintenance doses 564 mg/day, mean serum level 7.5; lev mean dose 2000 mg/day mean level 32. They calculated a standard neuropscyh score but more interestingly, LEV won on subtests of stroop, fatigue, attention, language, memory, dysphoria,l cognition. The placebo or non drug group beat lev on only tiredness and visual symbol digit modalities but beat CBZ on a whole host of measures.

Authors note that the AE'd of LEV behaviorally occur more commonly in learning disabled and those with psychiatric histories.