Levetiracetam is primarily used for the treatment of epilepsy and various types of seizures.
Its main uses include:
- Partial-onset seizures: Levetiracetam is used alone or as an adjunctive (add-on) therapy to control partial-onset seizures in adults, children, and infants as young as 1 month old[5][1].
- Myoclonic seizures: It is approved as adjunctive therapy for myoclonic seizures, particularly in patients 12 years and older with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy[1][7].
- Primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures: Levetiracetam is also used as adjunctive therapy to treat primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures in adults and children 6 years and older with idiopathic generalized epilepsy[7][6].
- Off-label uses: In some cases, levetiracetam may be prescribed for seizure prophylaxis after traumatic brain injury, during or after certain neurosurgeries, in status epilepticus, or in palliative care for seizure management, although these are not FDA-approved indications[1][4].
Levetiracetam works by decreasing abnormal excitement in the brain, making it effective in various epilepsy syndromes and as an add-on therapy when other antiepileptic drugs are not sufficient[2][3].