EUROPEAN COMMISSION APPROVES KEPPRA

UCB has announced that the European Commission has approved the use of Keppra (levetiracetam) as adjunctive therapy in the treatment of myoclonic seizures in adults and adolescents from 12 years of age with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Keppra is the only newer anti-epileptic drug approved in Europe for the treatment of myoclonic seizures in JME.

JME is a common epilepsy syndrome that usually starts between the ages of 12 and 18 and accounts for about 10 percent of all cases of epilepsy.1 It is characterized by myoclonic jerks that occur in 100 percent of cases, with many patients also experiencing generalized tonic-clonic and absence seizures. JME is frequently misdiagnosed and this can lead to inappropriate treatment choices.