topiramate

13 November 2008

Migraine patients more sensitive to Topamax?

Topamax – things "tasting funny"
a common side effect for migraineurs

Topamax (topiramate) has been a help to many patients with migraine and epilepsy. Unfortunately, many migraine patients also experience Topamax side effects, and these side effects make them more likely to stop topiramate treatment.

Researchers at the University of California in the United States and the University Medical Center in the Netherlands decided to ask the question – why so many problems? Are migraineurs actually more likely to have side effects from Topamax?

The researchers compared patients with epilepsy and patients with migraine who were taking topiramate alone as a treatment. The data showed that migraineurs were indeed more likely to stop taking the drug because of adverse reactions.

Epilepsy patients were more likely to suffer behaviour reactions and headache. Migraine patients were more likely to find that things "taste different", or have cognitive problems (such as language problems). Migraineurs were also more likely to drop out of topiramate treatment because of adverse reactions.

Technical data for the study can be found here: Are Migraineurs at Increased Risk of Adverse Drug Responses?

9 September 2008

Concerns about Topamax and Uric Acid

James Medications 1

A new study suggests that people taking Topamax (topiramate) for migraine may have increased levels of uric acid. What does that mean?

What’s Uric Acid?

Let’s back up a bit. It’s actually normal to have uric acid in your body. It’s simply a waste product that comes from food, that usually dissolves in your blood and leaves the body in urine. But problems come when your body starts producing too much, or getting rid of too little. High levels of uric acid in the blood is the result – this is called hyperuricemia.

Too much Uric Acid

Too much uric acid in the blood can be caused by many things – obesity, certain foods ("purine-rich" foods like sardines, gravy, beer and liver), certain diseases and certain medications.

The result can be conditions like gout, uric acid stones in the urinary tract, and buildups of uric acid in other parts of the body.

Where does Topamax fit in?

This was a small study of 97 patients, 53 who had migraine and who took topiramate. The migraineurs had significantly higher levels of uric acid.

I take Topamax – why should I care?

Every medication we take is a balance against pros and cons. This small study is not a reason to panic, but it is something worth talking to your doctor about, especially if you have a history of problems related to uric acid.

It’s also another indication that more studies need to be done on Topamax. It has been a help to many migraineurs, but we do need to be aware of the risks.

5 May 2008

Topamax for children?

James Medications 2

After all the discussion here about the side effects of Topamax, it was interesting to read the research about Topamax for children that was published last month.

In reality, there hasn’t been a lot of testing when it comes to topiramate for children. However, the researchers in Italy pulled the research together that has been done in the past, and made some interesting observations.

Has Topamax helped children with migraine? Yes, we have seen a reduction in migraine attacks in children taking Topamax.

Were there side effects? Yes, but which ones and how bad they were varied a LOT from child to child. The most common problems were weight loss, anorexia, abdominal pain, tiredness, trouble concentrating, and itchy or tingling skin (paraesthesia). Sometimes the side effects were only temporary.

The researchers made a good point regarding side effects. They said,"Since these adverse events, although often transitory, may be distressing for the child, we strongly recommend to assess the disability caused by the migraine episodes before deciding to initiate a prophylactic treatment."

In other words, be cautious, because these side effects may impact the life of a child far more than it would an adult.

It’s been noted before that decreased sweating, another possible side effect, may be particularly dangerous for children. Children on Topamax need to be watched closely.

By popular demand, there’s now a more in depth article on Topamax side effects here.

19 March 2008

Topamax may cause language disturbances

James Discoveries & Stats, Medications 113

A team of researchers led by Dr. Francesca Coppola from the University of Perugia (Universiti degli Studi di Perugia), Italy, recently investigated some side effects of the drug topiramate, sold as Topamax. Specifically, they were looking at patients taking the drug for migraine, as compared to patients taking other medications. They wanted to see if Topamax was more likely to cause "language disturbances".

By language disturbances we mean things like not being able to think of the right word, mixing words up, difficulty coming up with the words you want to use. This is actually a symptom of migraine, so we shouldn’t be surprised to see language problems in migraineurs.

But the research did show a clear difference. Patients on other drugs had no language problems, but over a quarter of those on topiramate did.

The good news is that the symptoms were mild, and usually disappeared after a month without any change in dosage. In other words, it’s something to be aware of, but probably nothing to worry about.

Topamax has helped many migraineurs, but it is a powerful drug and should not be among the first you try. Read more about Topamax and migraine here.

18 October 2005

Two topamax studies

James Medications 2

A recent study in Headache, the journal of the American Headache Society, demonstrated once again that Topamax (topiramate) can help some migraineurs. Dr Merle Diamond and her team wanted to know if there was a real improvement in quality of life for patients on the drug.

The quality of life study was a success, as you can tell by its title Topiramate improves health-related quality of life when used to prevent migraine. It was published last month, and the conclusion was that quality of life does improve. The dosage recommended is 100mg in two daily doses.

Topamax got another boost at the 12th Congress of the International Headache Society. The recent study was all about chronic tension headache. Patients in the trial found that they had about half the headaches they used to have. It does need to be tried for at least 3 months to be effective, however. Some of topiramate’s side effects also take a few weeks to diminish.

Topamax is a powerful drug, so it’s not the first thing to try. But for some patients, it seems to be the answer. Read more about Topamax here, or check out the information at drugstore.com.