levetiracetam versus oxcarbazepine as monotherapy to evaluate efficacy and safety in subjects with newly or recently diagnosed partial epilepsy

Conditions: Epilepsy

Summary: to evaluate the long term effectiveness of levetiracetam (lev) monotherapy on treatment failure rate in subjects with newly diagnosed partial onset seizures with or without secondary generalized seizures, compared to oxcarbazepine (oxc) monotherapy over 50 weeks from the first dose

the study duration consists of the following periods: * baseline period of one week: week -1 * titration period of two weeks: week 0 to week 1 * treatment period of 48 weeks: week 2 to week 50

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * male or female subjects from 16 to 80 years, inclusive. vulnerable subjects (e.g., under 20 years or subject with learning disability but judged to be capable to understand) may only be included where legally permitted and ethically accepted * subjects with newly or recently diagnosed epilepsy having experienced unprovoked partial seizures (ia, ib, ic with clear focal origin), that are classifiable according to the international classification of epileptic seizure (1981). undiscriminated subjects between ic and iie could be included * subjects with at least 2 unprovoked seizures separated by a minimum of 48 hours in the year preceding randomization out of which at least 1 unprovoked seizure in the 6 months preceding randomization * subjects with documented evidence of eeg and brain mri or ct scan in medical records which were performed within 1 year prior to visit 1 (v1) * subjects have no treatment with anti-epileptic drugs in the 6 months preceding this study. the treatment for acute seizure control is acceptable with a maximum of 2 weeks duration and if the treatment was stopped at least 1 week before v1. for phenobarbital and phenobarbital derivatives, a minimum of 4 weeks wash-out is requested before v1 exclusion criteria: * subject has a current or previous diagnosis of pseudoseizures, conversion disorders, or other non-epileptic ictal events which could be confused with seizures * subject taking 1 or more of the following medications on a regular basis within 28 days prior to visit 1: neuroleptics, monoamine oxidase (mao) inhibitors and narcotic analgesics * subject taking any immunosuppressant within 28 days prior to visit 1 * subject has a history of suicide attempt, has received professional counseling for suicidal ideation, or is currently experiencing active suicidal ideation * subject has a seizure disorder characterized primarily by isolated auras (ie, simple partial seizures without observable motor signs) * subject suffering from seizures other than partial (ia, ib, ic, with clear focal origin) seizures * subject has a history of status epilepticus within last 3-month period prior to visit 1 * subject has seizures that are uncountable due to clustering (ie, an episode lasting less than 30 minutes in which several seizures occur with such frequency that the initiation and completion of each individual seizure cannot be distinguished) during the 12-week period prior to visit 1 and/or during the screening period * body weight is lower than 40 kg (\< 40 kg)

Keywords: levetiracetam oxcarbazepine treatment failure partial epilepsy