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In children, Levetiracetam is effective in decreasing headache frequency, increasing rates of headache-free days, and lowering migraine disability.
According to the findings of a systematic review and meta-analysis issued in “Frontiers in Pharmacology”, Levetiracetam (LEV) substantially reduced monthly headache frequency by 5.19 headaches, improved headache-free rates to 28%, and also decreased the migraine disability score by 33.51 points. LEV, an antiepileptic agent, has been used successfully in adults to prevent migraine. However, its impact on pediatric migraines is less explored. Therefore, investigators sought to assess LEV’s effectiveness and safety for migraine prophylaxis in children.
Both randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs were investigated, emphasizing on measures of effectiveness and unwanted drug effects. Analysis of data was executed via fixed- or random-effects models to determine relative risks, odds ratios, and mean differences. A total of 8 studies with 190 volunteers demonstrated that LEV reduced the mean headache frequency by 5.19 times per month and improved the rate of headache-free days to 28%. Over 83% of children experienced more than a 50% drop in headache frequency.
The migraine disability scores also dropped by 33.51 points. Adverse drug reaction rates were comparable between the groups (18% overall), with irritability being the most common side effect, prompting therapy cessation in 13% of cases. Thus, LEV appeared valuable in reducing pediatric migraines, but its safety needs more rigorous confirmation through larger and better-designed studies.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
Efficacy and safety of levetiracetam for migraine prophylaxis in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Jing Peng et. al.
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