Briviact Received Green Light from US FDA to Treat Partial Onset Seizures
The US FDA on 18th Feb 2016 accepted Briviact (brivaracetam) as an add-on therapy to other drugs to treat partial onset seizures in sufferers age 16 years and older with epilepsy. Briviact is sold by UCB, Inc. of Smyrna, Georgia.
Epilepsy is a brain condition that leads to individuals to have recurring seizures. A seizure is an episode, generally of relatively small duration, of unusual brain activity. Seizures can lead to a wide range of symptoms, which includes irregular thinking and behavior, uncontrolled movements or spasms and unusual sensations. Muscle spasms can be violent, and loss of consciousness can happen. Seizures take place when clusters of nerve cells (neurons) in the brain go through unrestrained activation. A partial onset seizure starts in a limited region of the brain.
Billy Dunn, M.D., director of the Division of Neurology Products in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said
Individuals can have various reactions to the different seizure drugs that are accessible. With the approval of Briviact, I am happy that sufferers with epilepsy have a new therapy choice.
Epilepsy has many causes which include, among others, abnormal brain development, infection, stroke, tumors and traumatic brain injury.
In many situations, the particular trigger is unidentified. Epilepsy is among the most common conditions affecting the brain. Roughly 5.1 million individuals in the United States have a history of epilepsy and around 2.9 million individuals in the United States have active epilepsy.
Briviact’s effectiveness was analyzed in 3 clinical studies involving 1,550 subjects. Briviact, taken combined with other medicines, was proven to be successful in decreasing the frequency of seizures.
Some side effects informed by participants taking Briviact in clinical studies included drowsiness, dizziness, fatigue, nausea and vomiting.
Briviact should be dispensed with a Medication Guide for sufferers, which offers essential information about the drug’s use and risks. As is true for all medicines that treat epilepsy, the very serious risks include thoughts about suicide, tries to commit suicide, feelings of frustration, new or worsening depression, aggression, and panic attacks. Rarely, sufferers may exhibit an allergic reaction connected with swelling of the lips, eyelids, or tongue with or without problems in breathing.