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. 2023 Oct 16;10(10):CD009945.
doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009945.pub3.

Immunomodulatory interventions for focal epilepsy

Mariangela Panebianco  1 , Lauren Walker  1 , Anthony G Marson  1
Affiliations

Immunomodulatory interventions for focal epilepsy

Mariangela Panebianco et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. .

Abstract

Background: This is an updated version of an original Cochrane Review published in 2013 (Walker 2013). Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder affecting 0.5% to 1% of the population. Pharmacological treatment remains the first choice to control epilepsy. However, up to 30% of people do not respond to drug treatment, and therefore do not achieve seizure remission. Experimental and clinical evidence supports a role for inflammatory pathway activation in the pathogenesis of epilepsy which, if effectively targeted by immunomodulatory interventions, highlights a potentially novel therapeutic strategy.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and tolerability of immunomodulatory interventions on seizures, adverse effect profile, cognition, and quality of life, compared to placebo controls, when used as additional therapy for focal epilepsy in children and adults.

Search methods: For the latest update, we searched the following databases on 11 November 2021: Cochrane Register of Studies (CRS Web) and Medline (Ovid) 1946 to 10 November 2021. CRS Web includes randomised or quasi-randomised, controlled trials from PubMed, EMBASE, ClinicalTrials.gov, the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and the Specialized Registers of Cochrane Review Groups including Epilepsy. We placed no language restrictions. We reviewed the bibliographies of retrieved studies to search for additional reports of relevant studies.

Selection criteria: Randomised placebo-controlled trials of add-on immunomodulatory drug interventions, in which an adequate method of concealment of randomisation was used. The studies were double-, single- or unblinded. Eligible participants were children (aged over 2 years) and adults with focal epilepsy.

Data collection and analysis: We used standard methodological procedures expected by the Cochrane Collaboration. We assessed the following outcomes. 1. 50% or greater reduction in seizure frequency. 2. Seizure freedom. 3. Treatment withdrawal for any reason. 4. Quality of life. 5.

Adverse effects: We used an intention-to-treat (ITT) population for all primary analyses, and we presented results as risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% Cl).

Main results: We included three randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials on a total of 172 participants. All trials included children and adults over two years of age with focal epilepsy. Treatment phases lasted six weeks and follow-up from six weeks to six months. One of the three included trials described an adequate method of concealment of randomisation, whilst the other two trials were rated as having an unclear risk of bias due to lack of reported information around study design. Effective blinding of studies was reported in all three trials. All analyses were by ITT. One trial was sponsored by the manufacturer of an immunomodulatory agent and therefore was at high risk of funding bias. Immunomodulatory interventions were significantly more effective than placebo in reducing seizure frequency (risk ratio (RR) 2.30, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15 to 4.60; 3 studies, 172 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). For treatment withdrawal, there was insufficient evidence to conclude that people were more likely to discontinue immunomodulatory intervention than placebo (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.28 to 3.80; 3 studies, 172 participants; low-certainty evidence). The RR for adverse effects was 1.16 (95% CI 0.84 to 1.59; 1 study, 66 participants; low-certainty evidence). Certain adverse effects such as dizziness, headache, fatigue, and gastrointestinal disorders were more often associated with immunomodulatory interventions. There were little to no data on cognitive effects and quality of life. No important heterogeneity between studies was found for any of the outcomes. We judged the overall certainty of evidence (using the GRADE approach) as low to moderate due to potential attrition bias resulting from missing outcome data and imprecise results with wide confidence intervals.

Authors' conclusions: Immunomodulatory interventions as add-on treatment for children and adults with focal epilepsy appear to be effective in reducing seizure frequency. It is not possible to draw any conclusions about the tolerability of these agents in children and adults with epilepsy. Further randomised controlled trials are needed.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01048255.

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Conflict of interest statement

MP: none known.

LW: none known.

AGM: a consortium of pharmaceutical companies (GSK, EISAI, UCB Pharma) funded the National Audit of Seizure Management in Hospitals (NASH) through grants paid to the University of Liverpool. Professor Marson is funded in part by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration, North West Coast (NIHR ARC NWC). Professor Marson is a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator. The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care. Professor Marson is the Co‐ordinating Editor of the Cochrane Epilepsy Group; however, he was not involved in the editorial process of this review update.

Figures

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Risk of bias graph: review authors' judgements about each risk of bias item presented as percentages across all included studies.
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Risk of bias summary: review authors' judgements about each risk of bias item for each included study.
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Forest plot of comparison: immunomodulatory interventions versus placebo, outcome 1.1: 50% responder.
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Forest plot of comparison: immunomodulatory interventions versus placebo, outcome 1.2: treatment withdrawal.
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Forest plot of comparison: immunomodulatory interventions versus placebo, outcome 1.3: any adverse effects.
1.1
1.1. Analysis
Comparison 1: Immunomodulatory interventions versus placebo, Outcome 1: 50% responder
1.2
1.2. Analysis
Comparison 1: Immunomodulatory interventions versus placebo, Outcome 2: Treatment withdrawal
1.3
1.3. Analysis
Comparison 1: Immunomodulatory interventions versus placebo, Outcome 3: Any adverse effects
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