Are adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs different in symptomatic partial and idiopathic generalized epilepsies? the Portuguese-Brazilian validation of the Liverpool Adverse Events Profile

We report the results of administration of the Portuguese-Brazilian translation of the Liverpool Adverse Events Profile (LAEP) to 100 patients (mean age = 34.5, SD = 12.12; 56 females), 61 with symptomatic partial epilepsy (SPE) and 39 with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (ICE) (ILAE, 1989) who were on a stable antiepileptic drug (AED) regimen and being treated in a Brazilian tertiary epilepsy center. Carbamazepine was the most commonly used AED (43.0%), followed by valproic acid (32.0%). Two or more AEDs were used by 69.0% of patients. the mean LAEP score (19 questions) was 37.6 (SD = 13.35). the most common adverse effects were sleepiness (35.0%), memory problems (35.0%), and difficulty in concentrating (25.0%). Higher LAEP scores were associated with polytherapy with three or more AEDs (P=0.005), female gender (P0.001) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (Depression: r = 0.637, P<0.001; Anxiety: r = 0.621, P<0.001) dimensions. LAEP overall scores were similar in people with SPE and IGE and were not helpful in differentiating adverse effects in these two groups. Clinical variables that influenced global LAEP were seizure frequency (P = 0.050) and generalized tonic-clonic seizures in the last month (P = 0.031) in the ICE group, and polytherapy with three or more AEDs (P = 0.003 and P = 0.003) in both ICE and SPE groups. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Neurol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Neurol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc