A new Mayo Clinic study found that it is generally safe to withdraw anti-seizure medications in children with epilepsy who have achieved seizure-freedom while on the medication.
Researchers found that these children were not at high risk of subsequently developing intractable epilepsy. The study will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 7, at the American Epilepsy Society's annual meeting in Seattle.
Epilepsy is a disorder characterized by the occurrence of two or more seizures. It affects more than 3 million Americans. Approximately 10 percent of affected children have intractable epilepsy, a condition in which medications alone do not control seizures and seizures have a disabling effect on quality of life.
"It is often recommended that children with epilepsy who become seizure-free on anti-seizure medications be withdrawn from the drugs to avoid side effects of long-term use. Those potential side effects include cognitive slowing, incoordination, weight change, behavioral decline, and liver damage," says Katherine Nickels, M.D., a Mayo Clinic pediatric neurologist and an author of this study. "However, few previous studies had examined the risk of intractable epilepsy following withdrawal of anti-seizure medication, and the reported risks varied widely."