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EPILEPSY

How safe is switching antiepileptic drug manufacturers?

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 15, pages 8–9 (2019)Cite this article

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A nationwide German study of prescription data has demonstrated that switching to an antiepileptic drug from a different manufacturer increases the risk of seizure relapse. This finding sparks a debate about the reason for seizure worsening after switching and whether or not it is a pharmacological issue.

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Acknowledgements

The author holds the Friedrich-von-Bodelschwingh Endowed Professorship for Clinical and Experimental Epileptology at the Department of Neurology, Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin funded by the v. Bodelschwingh Foundation. The funder had no influence on this work.

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  1. Epilepsy-Center Berlin-Brandenburg, Department of Neurology, Charité — Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Martin Holtkamp

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  1. Martin Holtkamp
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Correspondence to Martin Holtkamp.

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Competing interests

The author has received speaker’s honoraria and/or consultancy fees from Bial, Desitin, Eisai, LivaNova, Novartis and UCB.

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Holtkamp, M. How safe is switching antiepileptic drug manufacturers?. Nat Rev Neurol 15, 8–9 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0108-6

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