Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Nov 2012
Seizure freedom is not adversely affected by early discontinuation of concomitant anti-epileptic drugs in the EULEV cohort of levetiracetam users.
Fear of discontinuing concomitant anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) may lead to potentially unnecessary and perhaps unsafe polypharmacy. The effect of withdrawing concomitant AEDs on epilepsy control was therefore studied in long-term users of levetiracetam. ⋯ Taking into account the various risk factors for seizures, the early reduction of concomitant AEDs was not associated with worse seizure rates during follow-up in real-life users of levetiracetam.
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Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf · Nov 2012
Signals of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy for immunosuppressants: a disproportionality analysis of spontaneous reports within the US Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS).
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a rare demyelinating disease of the central nervous system that has been reported as rare adverse drug reaction (ADR) of immunosuppressive drugs. We aimed to study signals of PML for immunosuppressants using a disproportionality analysis of spontaneous adverse event reports. ⋯ Our study revealed signals of PML for a substantial number of immunosuppressants, including some drugs less considered so far as a risk factor of PML, especially when used for the treatment of autoimmune disorders. These drugs and possible interactions between different immunosuppressants should be studied more closely in future studies.