Lamotrigine associated with insomnia

Purpose: To review the incidence of lamotrigine (LTG)-associated insomnia i n an adult tertiary care epilepsy outpatient clinic. Methods: The records of all patients who had received LTG were reviewed to identify patients who had experienced insomnia after introduction of this d rug. Patients were included if they had experienced a sleep disturbance of sufficient severity to require a discontinuation of LTG or a dose reduction . Results: Among 109 patients exposed to LTG, seven (6.4%) had a sleep distur bance of a severity to required a change in therapy. The descriptions of th e sleep disturbance were similar among the patients, and the LTG-induced in somnia appeared to be dose dependent. Unlike the few previous descriptions of LTG-induced insomnia in the literature, no factors predisposing to this adverse effect were identified. Conclusions: The results of this retrospective review suggest an associatio n between LTG and intolerable insomnia in a small proportion of patients. P hysicians should inquire about sleep disturbances in patients treated with LTG.