Background and purpose: Thoroughly acquainting physicians with the effects of antiseizure medications (ASMs) is essential for developing appropriate therapeutic regimens for seizure management. This review summarizes the available evidence regarding patients receiving the antiseizure agent perampanel (PER) and its effects on the cognition, behavior, and psychological status of patients.
Methods: The PubMed and Google Scholar databases were searched for all relevant articles published during 2015-2021 and without any other publication limitations, and also manually searched the reference lists in the identified articles. Outcomes of interest were changes in seizure frequency relative to baseline, 50% responder rate, seizure-free rate, and retention rate (proportion of participants continuing PER at study endpoints). Safety outcomes included adverse effects and the percentage of patients experiencing effects on cognitive, psychiatric, and behavioral symptoms.
Results: We identified 139 studies, of which 28 were included after screening. Most studies found reduced seizure frequencies and satisfactory responder and retention rates, demonstrating the effectiveness and tolerability of PER. No negative effects were found for cognitive function, but a nonnegligible impact on aggressive behavior was noted when compared with other ASMs. Patients with previous psychiatric comorbidities had a greater risk of psychiatric side effects under PER treatment. PER induces an overall improvement in quality of life.
Conclusions: After synthesizing the study results, PER was a safe and effective choice as an additional therapy for patients with refractory epilepsy. A comprehensive evaluation of behavior and psychiatric risk is suggested before implementing PER.
Keywords: antiepileptic drug; behavior; cognition; cognitive psychology; efficacy; perampanel.
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