KEPPRA- levetiracetam tablet, film coated
KEPPRA- levetiracetam solution
UCB, Inc.
1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE
1.1 Partial Onset Seizures
KEPPRA is indicated as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures in adults and children 1 month of age and older with epilepsy.
1.2 Myoclonic Seizures in Patients with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy
KEPPRA is indicated as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of myoclonic seizures in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.
1.3 Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures
KEPPRA is indicated as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures in adults and children 6 years of age and older with idiopathic generalized epilepsy.
2 DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
2.1 Important Administration Instructions
KEPPRA is given orally with or without food. The KEPPRA dosing regimen depends on the indication, age group, dosage form (tablets or oral solution), and renal function.
Prescribe the oral solution for pediatric patients with body weight ? 20 kg. Prescribe the oral solution or tablets for pediatric patients with body weight above 20 kg.
When using the oral solution in pediatric patients, dosing is weight-based (mg per kg) using a calibrated measuring device (not a household teaspoon or tablespoon).
KEPPRA tablets should be swallowed whole. KEPPRA tablets should not be chewed or crushed.
DESCRIPTION
KEPPRA is an antiepileptic drug available as 250 mg (blue), 500 mg (yellow), 750 mg (orange), and 1000 mg (white) tablets and as a clear, colorless, grape-flavored liquid (100 mg/mL) for oral administration.
The chemical name of levetiracetam, a single enantiomer, is (-)-(S)-?-ethyl-2-oxo-1-pyrrolidine acetamide, its molecular formula is C8 H14 N2 O2 and its molecular weight is 170.21. Levetiracetam is chemically unrelated to existing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs).
CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY
12.1 Mechanism of Action
The precise mechanism(s) by which levetiracetam exerts its antiepileptic effect is unknown. The antiepileptic activity of levetiracetam was assessed in a number of animal models of epileptic seizures. Levetiracetam did not inhibit single seizures induced by maximal stimulation with electrical current or different chemoconvulsants and showed only minimal activity in submaximal stimulation and in threshold tests. Protection was observed, however, against secondarily generalized activity from focal seizures induced by pilocarpine and kainic acid, two chemoconvulsants that induce seizures that mimic some features of human complex partial seizures with secondary generalization. Levetiracetam also displayed inhibitory properties in the kindling model in rats, another model of human complex partial seizures, both during kindling development and in the fully kindled state. The predictive value of these animal models for specific types of human epilepsy is uncertain.
