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Neurobehavioral Effects of Anticonvulsants FREE

David W. Loring, PhD; Kimford J. Meador, MD
JAMA. 1991;266(4):516-516. doi:10.1001/jama.1991.03470040080021
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To the Editor.  —We cannot agree with the JAMA editorial by Trimble1 that phenytoin produces greater impairment of cognitive functions than either carbamazepine or valproate sodium. The studies cited by Trimble have both methodological and statistical shortcomings that limit the confidence with which conclusions can be drawn, and his literature review selectively omits contradictory results.Thompson et al2,3 examined the effects of phenytoin and valproate on healthy subjects in separate studies and concluded that phenytoin produces greater functional impairment. However, results from these reports cannot be compared directly since they were not derived using identical approaches to data analysis (ie, treatment minus baseline difference scores for phenytoin2 and drug vs placebo contrasts for valproate3).To directly compare results from these studies, we calculated the Student t tests from their data. Comparing phenytoin with valproate treatment, we observed significant differences for both color (P<.01) and category

REFERENCES

Trimble MR.  Neurobehavioral effects of anticonvulsants. JAMA . 1991;;265:1307-1308.
Thompson PJ, Huppert LF, Trimble MR.  Phenytoin and cognitive functions: effects on normal volunteers and implications for epilepsy. Br J Clin Psychol . 1981;;20:155-162.
Thompson PJ, Trimble MR.  Sodium valproate and cognitive functioning in normal volunteers. Br J Clin Pharmacol . 1981;;12:819-824.
Smith DB, Mattson RH, Cramer JA, et al.  Results of a nationwide Veterans Administration Cooperative Study comparing the efficacy and toxicity of carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and primidone. Epilepsia . 1987;; 28( (suppl) ):S50-S58.
Dodrill CB, Troupin AS.  Psychotropic effects of carbamazepine in epilepsy: a double-blind comparison with phenytoin. Neurology . 1977;;27:1023-1028.
Dodrill CB, Troupin AS.  Neuropsychological effects of carbamazepine and phenytoin: a reanalysis. Neurology . 1991;;41:141-143.
Meador KJ, Loring DW, Huh K, et al.  Comparative cognitive effects of anticonvulsants. Neurology . 1990;; 40:391-394.
Meador KJ, Loring DW, Allen ME, et al.  Comparative cognitive effects of carbamazepine and phenytoin in healthy adults. Neurology . In press.

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Trimble MR.  Neurobehavioral effects of anticonvulsants. JAMA . 1991;;265:1307-1308.
Thompson PJ, Huppert LF, Trimble MR.  Phenytoin and cognitive functions: effects on normal volunteers and implications for epilepsy. Br J Clin Psychol . 1981;;20:155-162.
Thompson PJ, Trimble MR.  Sodium valproate and cognitive functioning in normal volunteers. Br J Clin Pharmacol . 1981;;12:819-824.
Smith DB, Mattson RH, Cramer JA, et al.  Results of a nationwide Veterans Administration Cooperative Study comparing the efficacy and toxicity of carbamazepine, phenobarbital, phenytoin and primidone. Epilepsia . 1987;; 28( (suppl) ):S50-S58.
Dodrill CB, Troupin AS.  Psychotropic effects of carbamazepine in epilepsy: a double-blind comparison with phenytoin. Neurology . 1977;;27:1023-1028.
Dodrill CB, Troupin AS.  Neuropsychological effects of carbamazepine and phenytoin: a reanalysis. Neurology . 1991;;41:141-143.
Meador KJ, Loring DW, Huh K, et al.  Comparative cognitive effects of anticonvulsants. Neurology . 1990;; 40:391-394.
Meador KJ, Loring DW, Allen ME, et al.  Comparative cognitive effects of carbamazepine and phenytoin in healthy adults. Neurology . In press.
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