Self-reported feelings of anger and aggression towards others in patients on levetiracetam: data from the UK antiepileptic drug register

OBJECTIVES: To ascertain the frequency of self-reported anger and depression in levetiracetam (LEV). DESIGN: We compared patients with epilepsy (PWE) taking LEV with PWE taking other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). SETTING: All PWE and controls submitted information to the UK AED register. PARTICIPANTS: We analysed the data of 418 PWE and 41 control participants. 158 participants took LEV in monotherapy or as part of polypharmacotherapy, 260 PWE took other AED. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: All PWE and controls completed the Liverpool Adverse Event Profile (LAEP) which includes items on anger and depression quantified on a four-point Likert scale, with 1 indicating that there was never a problem; 2, rarely a problem; 3, sometimes a problem and 4, always or often a problem. RESULTS: 49% of PWE on LEV and 39% on AED other than LEV reported anger as sometimes or always being a problem (p=0.042). 48% of PWE on LEV and 45% on AED other than LEV reported depression as sometimes or always being a problem (p=0.584). 7% of control participants reported anger as sometimes being a problem and 93% reported anger as never or rarely being a problem. Depression was never a problem in 75% of controls and rarely a problem in 25%. CONCLUSIONS: Anger and depression were more frequently reported as a problem by PWE than by control participants. Our observational register of self-reported symptoms suggested anger being more often a problem in patients taking LEV than in PWE taking other AED. PWE should be informed about this potential problem of LEV.