levetiracetam and Acidosis--Lactic

Mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is the most common subtype of mitochondrial encephalopathy. In the past, it was believed that most hereditary white matter lesions were lysosome storage disorders or peroxisome diseases. However, in recent years, white matter lesions have been increasingly regarded as a common feature of patients with mitochondrial diseases. In addition to stroke-like lesions, about half of the patients with MELAS reported white matter lesions in the brain.. Herein, we provide a case of A 48-year-old female who presented with episodic loss of consciousness with twitching of extremities. Previous medical history revealed 10 years of history of epilepsy, 10 years of history of diabetes, a history of hearing loss, and unknown etiology. Ancillary findings included brain magnetic fluid-attenuated inversion recovery showed symmetrical lesions in the bilateral parietal lobe with high signal intensity at the edge, and high signal intensity in the bilateral occipital lobe, paraventricular white matter, corona radiata, and the center of semiovale.. Mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid gene sequencing returned A3243G point mutation and it supports the diagnosis of intracranial hypertension.. Considered the diagnosis of symptomatic epilepsy, the patient was treated with mechanical ventilation, midazolam, and levetiracetam, and the limb twitching symptoms were controlled. The patient was comatose, chronically bedridden, with gastrointestinal dysfunction, and was treated prophylactically with antibiotics against infection, parenteral nutrition, and other supportive measures. B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, and idebenone were given, and mechanical ventilation and midazolam were stopped after 8 days. He was discharged from the hospital on 30 days and continued symptomatic treatment with B-vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10, and idebenone, and antiepileptic treatment with levetiracetam, with outpatient follow-up.. No further seizures were recorded and the patient recovered well.. MELAS syndrome without stroke-like episodes of diffuse posterior cerebral white matter lesions is rare in clinical practice, and the possibility of MELAS syndrome should be considered in symmetric posterior cerebral white matter lesions.

Topics: Acidosis, Lactic; Ascorbic Acid; Female; Humans; Leukoencephalopathies; Levetiracetam; Male; MELAS Syndrome; Midazolam; Middle Aged; Stroke; Vitamin E; Vitamins

Studies on the relationship between antiepileptic drug (AED) administration and clinical outcomes in patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) remain scarce. Levetiracetam (LEV) is an AED that is neuroprotective in various neurologic disorders. This study aimed to determine the impact of LEV on the outcome of MELAS.. A retrospective, single-center study was performed based on a large cohort of patients with MELAS with a history of seizures (n = 102). Decisions on antiepileptic therapies were made empirically. Patients were followed up for 1 to 8 years (median, 4 years) and divided into 2 groups based on whether LEV was administered (LEV or non-LEV). The modified Rankin scale (mRS) scores and mortality risks were analyzed in all patients.. LEV, carbamazepine, benzodiazepines, topiramate, oxcarbazepine, valproate, and lamotrigine were administered in 48, 37, 18, 13, 11, 9, and 9 patients, singly or in combination, respectively. The mean mRS score of the LEV group (n = 48) was lower than that of the non-LEV group (n = 54; mean ± standard deviation, 2.79 ± 1.47 vs. 3.83 ± 1.93, P = 0.006) up to the end of the study. Nevertheless, there was no difference in the proportion of subjects without disability (mRS ranging 0-1) between the groups (P = 0.37). The multivariate regressions revealed that LEV treatment was associated with lower mRS scores (odds ratio 0.32, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.15-0.68, P = 0.003) and mortality rates (hazard ratio 0.24, 95% CI 0.08-0.74, P = 0.013). There was a significant difference in the Kaplan-Meier survival curves between the groups (χ = 4.29, P = 0.04).. The LEV administration is associated with lower mortality in patients with MELAS in this retrospective study. Further laboratory research and prospective cohort studies are needed to confirm whether LEV has neuroprotective effects on patients with mitochondrial diseases.

Topics: Acidosis, Lactic; Adolescent; Anticonvulsants; Carbamazepine; Child; Child, Preschool; Female; Humans; Lamotrigine; Levetiracetam; Male; Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathies; Oxcarbazepine; Prospective Studies; Retrospective Studies; Stroke; Topiramate; Valproic Acid

Topics: Acidosis, Lactic; Humans; Levetiracetam; MELAS Syndrome; Retrospective Studies; Stroke

Mitochondrial cytopathy is a multisystemic disease that requires different pharmacological and specialist approaches; although most therapies are usually of scarce effectiveness. We describe a clinical management of a very young girl with Pearson's syndrome that developed the symptoms of Kearns-Sayre syndrome. Many of symptoms were temporarily improved by the replacement therapy with hydrocortisone introduced to treat the partial adrenal insufficiency. During her life, she showed an ample clinical spectrum of symptoms because of multiple organs involvements: firstly bone marrow and, thereafter, brain, retina, inner ear, and kidney. Partial adrenal insufficiency, rarely described in mitochondrial disorders, was a distinctive characteristic of this case. When our patient was treated with hydrocortisone, in addition to ubiquinone and carnitine, the episodes of decompensation regressed and an improvement of the adrenal insufficiency, but only temporary reversion of the weakness of muscle, ophthalmoplegia and of the fatigue, were testified. Nevertheless, after a brief period of recovery, she developed the de Toni-Debré-Fanconi syndrome and the reappearance of the neurological symptoms.

Topics: Acidosis, Lactic; Bone Marrow Diseases; Calcium; Child, Preschool; Disease Progression; DNA, Mitochondrial; Ergocalciferols; Fanconi Syndrome; Female; Humans; Kearns-Sayre Syndrome; Levetiracetam; Neutropenia; Nootropic Agents; Pancreas, Exocrine; Pancreatic Diseases; Piracetam; Sodium Bicarbonate; Thrombocytopenia