Perampanel, sold under the brand name Fycompa, is an
anti-epileptic medication
Anticonvulsants (also known as antiepileptic drugs or recently as antiseizure drugs) are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of b ...
developed by
Eisai Co. that is used in addition to other drugs to treat
partial seizures and generalized
tonic-clonic seizures for people older than twelve years.
It was first approved in 2012, and , its optimal role in the treatment of epilepsy relative to other drugs was not clear.
It was the first antiepileptic drug in the class of selective
non-competitive antagonist
A receptor antagonist is a type of receptor ligand or drug that blocks or dampens a biological response by binding to and blocking a receptor rather than activating it like an agonist. Antagonist drugs interfere in the natural operation of rec ...
of
AMPA receptor
The α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (also known as AMPA receptor, AMPAR, or quisqualate receptor) is an ionotropic receptor, ionotropic transmembrane receptor for glutamate (iGluR) that mediates fast synapse, synap ...
s.
The drug label has a
black box warning
In the United States, a boxed warning (sometimes "black box warning", colloquially) is a type of warning that appears on the package insert for certain prescription drugs, so called because
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration specifies that it ...
that the drug may cause serious psychiatric and behavioral changes; it may cause homicidal or suicidal thoughts.
Other side effects have included dizziness, somnolence, vertigo, aggression, anger,
loss of coordination
Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements. Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of ...
, blurred vision, irritability, and
slurred speech
Dysarthria is a speech sound disorder resulting from neurological injury of the motor component of the motor–speech system and is characterized by poor articulation of phonemes. In other words, it is a condition in which problems effective ...
.
Perampanel reduced the effectiveness of levonorgestrel
oral contraceptives Oral contraceptives, abbreviated OCPs, also known as birth control pills, are medications taken by mouth for the purpose of birth control.
F