Progress of Levetiracetam Basic Research

OBJECTIVE To introduce the progress study of the new antiepileptic drug of levetiracetam in basic animal experiments. METHODS By investigating the international literatures in recent years, we summed up the role of levetiracetam mechanism in epilepsy animal models, and the relationship with epilepsy drug resistance protein, brain protection. RESULTS LEV has different mechanisms with previously antiepileptic drugs, which not only has antiepileptic effects, also has the role of suppressing the generation and development of epilepsy. According to the most reports that LEV is not a substrate of common drug resistance proteins such as P-gp, MRP1/2 and MDR1, in treatment of refractory epilepsy has a theoretical foundation, meanwhile LEV has more neuroprotective in acute phase of epilepsy model, not in the chronic period. COCLUSION A large number of animal experiments show that LEV has a completely new mechanism, for the clinical treatment of epilepsy has important guiding significance, but the results are different in different epilepsy models or organization which needs to be further investigated, to provide a reference for the development of new anti-epileptic drugs.