Stiripentol Reduces Seizures and Hospital Visits in Dravet Syndrome
⚠️ Infant dosing/safety: medication and diet decisions for infants require individualized medical guidance.
Source: Epilepsia open
Summary
The STIRUS study looked at how effective stiripentol, a medication approved for Dravet syndrome (DS), is for patients in the United States. Researchers reviewed the medical records of 98 children with DS who started taking stiripentol after it was approved by the FDA in 2018. They collected information from 10 epilepsy centers about the patients' seizure types, how often they had seizures, and their overall quality of life before and after starting the medication.
The study found that stiripentol significantly reduced the number of convulsive seizures and episodes of status epilepticus, which is a serious condition where seizures last too long or happen back-to-back. Many patients also needed fewer rescue medications and had fewer emergency room visits. More than half of the patients and their caregivers reported an improvement in their quality of life after starting the treatment.
These findings are important because they show that stiripentol can help reduce the burden of seizures and improve the lives of children with Dravet syndrome. However, the study also highlighted that stiripentol is not being used as often as it could be, and many patients start the medication later than ideal. Encouraging earlier use of stiripentol may lead to even better health outcomes for these children.
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