Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2016 Dec 1;18(4):454-457.
doi: 10.1684/epd.2016.0875.

Amoxicillin, a potential epileptogenic drug

João Raposo  1 , Rute Teotónio  1 , Conceição Bento  1 , Francisco Sales  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Amoxicillin, a potential epileptogenic drug

João Raposo et al. Epileptic Disord. .

Abstract

Beta-lactams are known to cause a wide spectrum of neurotoxic manifestations including epileptic seizures. The neurotoxicity of penicillin was first reported in 1945 by Johnson and Walker and is believed to exert an inhibitory effect on gamma-aminobutyric acid transmission of cortical pyramidal cells, due to its beta-lactam ring structure. Epileptogenicity is also a feature of the semisynthetic beta-lactams including aminopenicillins. In this report, we present a patient with a recurrent history of discrete body twitching/jerks of epileptic nature in the context of amoxicillin exposure. The EEG revealed intermittent generalized short bursts of beta-frequency polyspikes. This electro-clinical picture was reversed by amoxicillin discontinuation.

Keywords: amoxicillin; beta-lactam; epileptogenic drug.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types

MeSH terms