CHILDHOOD ABSENCE EPILEPSY RX, PK-PD-PHARMACOGENETICS

这个子项目是众多研究子项目之一

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Childhood Absence Epilepsy (CAE) is characterized by very frequent absence seizures in an otherwise normal child. Absence epilepsy onset is typically between the ages of 4 to 8 years with a peak incidence of 6 to 7 years of age. Twenty percent of young adults with CAE had an injury during an absence seizure. The risk of accidental injury resulting from an absence seizure has been estimated to be 3% per person year. Three anti-epileptic drugs (AED), ethosuximide (ETX), lamotrogine (LTG), and valproic acid (VPA), are the only AEDs with proven efficacy as initial monotherapy for CAE. No study to date, however, has compared the long-term efficacy and tolerability of these AEDs in a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial. No one AED is the universally accepted drug of first choice for CAE. This study will (1) identify the optimal anticonvulsant used for the initial treatment of children with CAE, (2) determine the pharmacogenetic and other non-heritable factors underlying the inter-individual variation in anticonvulsants response efficacy and toxicity, and (3) define and contrast the effects of ethosuximide, lamotrogine, and valproic acid monotherapy on cognition (attention), behavior and quality of life in children with CAE.