Levetiracetam
Levetiracetam (Keppra) is the only product on this shelf, a 250 mg and 500 mg tablet used to control Partial Onset Seizures and Myoclonic Seizures.
Key points
- Levetiracetam is an anticonvulsant that works by decreasing abnormal electrical excitement in the brain.
- It is used alone or alongside other medicines to control partial-onset, myoclonic and tonic-clonic seizures in patients from 1 month of age.
- About 1 in 500 people taking anticonvulsants such as levetiracetam developed suicidal thoughts during clinical studies, sometimes as early as one week after starting.
How does Levetiracetam work?
Levetiracetam is a Neurology medicine that reduces the abnormal electrical excitement in the brain that triggers a seizure. It is thought to work by binding to a protein on synaptic vesicles, the small sacs that release neurotransmitters between nerve cells, which dampens the excessive firing. Unlike some older anticonvulsants, levetiracetam does not change the blood levels of other epilepsy medicines, and those medicines do not change its levels either.
