The focus of epilepsy treatment is expanding beyond seizure control to include patients' cognitive function and daily living. Given the long-term nature of the disease, minimizing the impact on cognitive abilities such as memory, concentration, and judgment while reducing seizures has become a key factor in improving patients' quality of life.
According to industry sources, senobamate, an epilepsy treatment developed by SK Biopharmaceuticals, demonstrated similar executive function evaluation results to existing antiepileptic drugs in a large-scale comparative study conducted overseas. The study, led by researchers from the University Hospital Bonn and Freiburg in Germany and Valencia in Spain, was published on October 2 in the international journal CNS Drugs.
Patients with epilepsy face not only recurrent seizures but also the burden of cognitive decline that can occur during treatment. While antiepileptic drugs control seizures by suppressing excessive neuronal excitability, some medications can negatively affect attention, memory, and information processing speed. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy often require multiple antiepileptic medications, making it crucial to balance treatment efficacy with the burden of medication.
Senobamate has shown effectiveness in reducing seizures and achieving seizure freedom in patients with refractory epilepsy in previous clinical and real-world studies. However, further validation of its impact on cognitive function was necessary.
The research team analyzed real-world data from 600 patients, including 200 receiving senobamate and 400 receiving perampanel. Perampanel, used as a comparator, is an antiepileptic drug that has not shown consistent negative effects on objective cognitive function tests, serving as a benchmark for comparing the two treatment groups' executive functions.
The evaluation utilized the EpiTrack test, which measures attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. The analysis revealed that the senobamate group exhibited similar executive function evaluation results to the perampanel group, with an average dosage of approximately 191 mg per day for senobamate.
A statistical correlation was also confirmed, indicating that as the number of concomitant antiepileptic drugs increased, executive function evaluation scores tended to decline. This suggests the importance of considering not only the effects of individual medications but also the overall medication burden in epilepsy treatment.
Executive function is related to the ability to plan and process multiple pieces of information, closely tied to maintaining daily life in academic and work settings. This study underscores the importance of a patient-centered treatment strategy that considers both seizure control and the cognitive burden.
Meanwhile, senobamate is set to be launched in South Korea under the brand name 'Xcopri.' Dong-A ST is responsible for its production and sales, holding rights for 30 countries, including South Korea.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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