Affiliation:
1. Department of Psychiatry Washington University, School of Medicine St Louis MO
2. Department of Neurology University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine Madison WI
Abstract
Many antiseizure medications cause apoptotic cell death in developing brains. The newer antiseizure medication lacosamide is increasingly used in neonates and infants. Neurotoxicity of lacosamide and its combination with levetiracetam was studied in neonatal mice. Animals received single or repeat injections of saline, phenobarbital (75mg/kg), lacosamide (20–40mg/kg), levetiracetam (100mg/kg), lacosamide (40mg/kg) + levetiracetam (100mg/kg) and euthanized at 6 to 30 hours. Cells undergoing apoptosis were increased in the brains of phenobarbital‐treated animals. Densities of apoptotic profiles following lacosamide and levetiracetam treatment did not differ from saline‐treated controls. Findings suggest that lacosamide, levetiracetam and their combination do not cause apoptosis in developing mouse brains. ANN NEUROL 2024
Funder
National Institutes of Health