Antiepileptic efficacy of vigabatrin in people with severe epilepsy and intellectual disability

The short- and long-term clinical efficacy of add-on vigabatrin treatment w as evaluated in a group of 36 patients with intellectual disability and dru g-refractory epilepsy. The results were compared to the efficacy of vigabat rin in 75 non-retarded patients with drug-resistant complex partial and sec ondarily generalized seizures. After 3 months, 42% of the patients with int ellectual disability had experienced a reduction in seizure frequency of mo re than 50% (responders). The percentage of responders was still 22% after 6 years. No impairment in psychological function was observed during vigaba trin treatment compared with baseline values. However, one patient was excl uded from long-term treatment because of psychotic depression and two patie nts because of psychomotor slowing after 1-2 years of treatment The need fo r extra supervision appeared to diminish and three patients were able to be discharged from institutional care during the follow-up. In the group of n on-retarded patients, the percentages of the responders were 55% and 27% af ter 3 months and 6 years of treatment, respectively. The results from these studies suggest that vigabatrin is effective and relatively well tolerated , and that the successful treatment of epilepsy also has socio-economic con sequences in patients with intellectual disability and severe epilepsy.