EFFECT OF LAMOTRIGINE ON EEG PAROXYSMAL ABNORMALITIES AND BACKGROUND ACTIVITY - A COMPUTERIZED ANALYSIS

1 Little information is available about the action of lamotrigine (LTG ) on EEG paroxysmal abnormalities and background activity. On the cont rary, several clinical trials have shown the therapeutic efficacy of t he drug in preventing partial and generalized seizures. 2 We performed computerized EEG monitoring in 21 patients suffering from focal and g eneralized epilepsy before and 4 months after addition of LTG. The ant iconvulsant modified the EEG ictal events by reducing their frequency and duration. A statistically significant decrease of the interictal s pikes was observed. The decrease involved mainly the spreading compone nt of the interictal events leading to a better spatial definition of the epileptic focus. 3 In the presence of LTG, generalized tonic-cloni c attacks were completely controlled, whereas partial seizures were de creased. 4 The EEG background activity was not modified by the additio n of the drug. 5 Our findings suggest a specific role for LTG in the g eneration and propagation processes of epileptiform activity without i nterfering with the EEG background activity.