Citations

Objective: To review the pharmacology, usage, efficacy, and safety of fenfluramine in treating seizures in pediatric patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome. Data sources: The PubMed database was searched for studies using the search terms “Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome,” “Dravet Syndrome,” “fenfluramine,” and “Fintepla©.” Study selection and data extraction: Articles were selected based on the following criteria: published in English, published between January 1950 and September 2025, and included clinical relevancy for pharmacology, efficacy, and adverse events. Data synthesis: In a phase 3 trial, patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome experienced a median 26.5% decrease in frequency of drop seizures when taking the 0.7 mg/kg/d dose. In a 2-part phase 2 trial, 54% of patients with Dravet syndrome concurrently taking stiripentol experienced a >50% decrease in monthly seizures at a dosage of 0.4 mg/kg/d; 72.9% of patients with Dravet syndrome not concurrently taking stiripentol experienced a >50% decrease in monthly seizures at a dosage of 0.7 mg/kg/d. Most common adverse effects in both trials included lethargy, decreased weight, and decreased appetite. Relevance to patient care and clinical practice: Fenfluramine’s dual mechanism of action makes it uniquely suited to reduce seizure activity after previous failures in treatment. Some providers are hesitant to prescribe fenfluramine due to its historical association with severe cardiovascular risks. However, proper dosage and titration, as well as adherence to the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy program can sufficiently mitigate risk for the outcome of seizure reduction and increased quality of life. Conclusions: As seen through the results of multiple clinical trials, fenfluramine can provide significant seizure reduction for Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet patients with treatment-resistant seizures. Risks can be mitigated through adherence to proper programs and schedules, and can provide enough benefits to outweigh risks in patients with particularly resistant epilepsies.

OBJECTIVE Objective values on procedural risk are essential to facilitate informed consent and optimize clinical decision-making in patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs). While robust heuristics, such as the PHASES (population, hypertension, age, size of aneurysm, earlier subarachnoid hemorrhage, and site of aneurysm) score, are established for predicting rupture risk, contemporary and granular benchmarks for procedural safety remain scarce. The multinational Prediction of Adverse Events After Microsurgery for Intracranial Unruptured Aneurysms (PRAEMIUM) study aims to comprehensively characterize contemporary adverse event rates following microsurgical treatment at high-volume expert centers, stratified by aneurysm location, morphology, and complexity factors to better inform individual risk/benefit analyses. METHODS A cohort study among 20 participating expert centers from 9 countries was established. Patients treated microsurgically for UIAs were included. The authors describe the epidemiology of treated patients and UIAs and a comprehensive adverse event profile using 3 outcomes measured at hospital discharge: 1) poor neurological outcome (modified Rankin Scale score ≥ 3), 2) new sensorimotor neurological deficits, and 3) all-cause adverse events (Clavien-Dindo grade ≥ 1). Subgroup reports were given for aneurysm location, morphology, and complexity factors (prior aneurysm treatment, calcifications, complex angioanatomy involving critical branch vessels or perforators, and thrombosis). The authors purposely chose discharge as the time point to capture early postoperative risks and complications in patients with asymptomatic UIAs, for whom preserving neurological function is paramount. RESULTS The cohort included 3705 patients (mean age 56 [SD 12] years, 28% male). Overall, at discharge 13.9% of patients (95% CI 12.8%–15.0%) had poor neurological functional outcomes, 14.4% (95% CI 13.3%–15.5%) had new sensorimotor deficits, and 24.1% (95% CI 22.8%–25.5%) experienced all-cause adverse events. Poor neurological outcomes ranged from 8.5% (M1 aneurysms) to 37.4% (posterior circulation aneurysms), neurological deficits from 9.3% (distal anterior cerebral artery [ACA] aneurysms) to 34.2% (posterior circulation aneurysms), and all-cause adverse events from 21.2% (distal ACA aneurysms) to 31.3% (posterior circulation aneurysms). Dissecting and fusiform aneurysms showed notably high rates of poor neurological outcomes (22.0%–33.3%), new deficits (25.4%–26.7%), and adverse events (26.7%–37.0%). Complexity factors significantly influenced outcomes, with prior treatment (22.9%, 19.7%, and 30.1%), calcification (16.3%, 18.1%, and 30.5%), complex angioanatomy (13.1%, 15.9%, and 26.9%), and thrombosis (19.6%, 23.9%, and 39.6%) notably increasing the risks for poor neurological outcomes, deficits, and adverse events, respectively. CONCLUSIONS This large international cohort provides contemporary benchmarks for microsurgical treatment of UIAs, emphasizing variability in outcomes based on aneurysm location, morphology, and complexity. The presented granular and quotable adverse event rates support informed patient counseling and individualized risk/benefit assessments in comparable high-volume centers.