Methylphenidate Treatment of Attention Deficits in Epilepsy
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2015-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Methylphenidate (MPH) has long been used to improve attention and cognitive difficulties
associated with ADHD, including in children with ADHD and epilepsy (Torres et al., 2008).
Methylphenidate (MPH) is also helpful in treating attention and other cognitive difficulties
in a variety of other neurological and medical conditions (Kajs-Wyllie, 2002; Prommer, 2012).
We seek to evaluate the potential efficacy and safety of this medication in treating
attention deficits, as well as other cognitive difficulties, experienced by adult patients
with epilepsy.
To our knowledge, there are currently very few studies which explicitly examine the impact of
MPH on measureable attention deficits and other cognitive deficits in adult patients with
epilepsy. We hope to quantify what impact, if any, methylphenidate has on attention, in
addition to other specific measureable cognitive functions, in patients with cognitive
complaints and epilepsy, and contribute to a growing body of evidence which supports the
safety of methylphenidate's use for attention deficits in patients with epilepsy. As other
effective treatments for attention and other cognitive difficulties in patients with epilepsy
are not currently available, MPH could represent an important option in the treatment of such
patients.