Organizations Raise Concern Over Results of Anticonvulsant Drug Comparisons Study

Representatives from the American Academy of Neurology, the American Epilepsy Society, and the Epilepsy Foundation have expressed concerns about the implications and potential misuse of the anticonvulsant (AED) drug comparisons study recently released by the U.S. Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ). The study’s intent was to provide an evidence-based analysis of the “Effectiveness and Safety of Antiepileptic Medications in Patients With Epilepsy.” But the AHRQ report has little clinical value and could negatively affect patient care, say specialists in neurology and epilepsy.

The AHRQ report is an examination of the comparative efficacy, safety, and tolerability of newer versus older, and innovator versus generic antiepileptic medications. The aforementioned representatives strongly support evidence–based medicine and comparative effectiveness research as a means of improving quality of care. At issue, however, is the study’s focus, which fails to recognize the different types of epilepsy and deals with the multiform disorder as if it were a monolithic and homogeneous condition. The study further compares effectiveness of old-line anticonvulsants to newer epilepsy drugs, regardless of epilepsy type. Given that seizures have vastly different pathologies and the use of AEDs differs greatly based on the underlying pathology, the old versus new comparison is irrelevant to clinical practice. For more information, click here to read the full release.