ArticleCureus2025
From Seizures to Behavioral Symptoms: A Case Series of Psychiatric Adverse Effects of Levetiracetam in Epilepsy Patients.
Article in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Levetiracetam (LEV) is the most commonly prescribed antiepileptic drug, which can be used as both adjunctive and first-line therapy, depending on the specific type of seizure. In some patients, LEV may cause behavioral adverse effects (BAEs), which range from irritability and aggression to mood disturbances and psychosis. This case series constitutes five epileptic patients managed with LEV who developed behavioral or psychiatric disturbances. It is one of the few case series reported in India. Five patients (three males and two females, aged 9-35 years) exhibited behavioral disturbances such as irritability, aggression, anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and psychosis, predominantly following LEV initiation or dose escalation. These patients also have contributing factors such as a history of psychiatric illness, developmental delay, and underlying structural brain abnormalities. Among these, three patients' behavioral symptoms recovered following dose reduction or discontinuation of LEV, and the remaining two patients' outcome information was missing due to loss of follow-up. All these five cases were reported to the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PVPI) through the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre (AMC) of Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS), Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. No cases of mortality or lasting psychiatric complications were reported. As per the World Health Organization Uppsala Monitoring Centre (WHO-UMC) criteria, the causality of the cases was one case as certain, two as probable, and two as possible. This case series highlights the clinical significance of behavioral and psychiatric adverse effects associated with LEV. Vigilant monitoring, timely recognition, and coordinated management between neurology and psychiatry are crucial for maintaining desirable seizure control while safeguarding mental well-being.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.