TREATMENT OF SEIZURES IN ACUTE INTERMITTENT PORPHYRIA - SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF GABAPENTIN

Treatment of seizures in acute intermittent porphyria represents a the rapeutic dilemma. Patients needing chronic therapy often experience ac ute porphyric attacks due to increased hepatic metabolism induced by t he antiepileptic drugs themselves. Gabapentin is a new antiepileptic d rug not appreciably metabolized by the liver in humans, and it appears to be safe and effective in the maintenance therapy of epilepsy in th ese patients. We report a patient affected by partial and generalized seizures in the course of acute intermittent porphyria, who was safely and successfully treated with gabapentin.