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
Review
. 2025 May 27:103:100798.
doi: 10.1016/j.curtheres.2025.100798. eCollection 2025.

Cognitive Effect of Levetiracetam in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease or Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review

Mohamad Hosein Mohamadi  1 , Amir Bavafa  2   3 , Sahar Salehi  4 , Mahsa Abedi  5 , Fahimeh Shahabi  2 , Sana Jafarlou  1 , Pirhossein Kolivand  6 , Sajad Sahab-Negah  7
Affiliations
Review

Cognitive Effect of Levetiracetam in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease or Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review

Mohamad Hosein Mohamadi et al. Curr Ther Res Clin Exp. .

Abstract

Background: Various therapeutic interventions have been investigated for cognitive impairment, a common problem in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Levetiracetam (LEV), an antiepileptic drug, has been shown to alleviate cognitive impairment.

Objective: The present systematic review aimed to evaluate the cognitive effects of LEV in patients with AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Methods: We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Embase databases for all studies on LEV and cognitive impairment. After multistep screening, we identified qualified interventional studies and performed further data extraction. We reviewed the methodological diversity across the studies and assessed the quality of each study using the critical appraisal of the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist (the risk of bias assessment).

Results: Of the 1091 publications, only 5 articles were qualified for review. All studies enrolled patients with AD or MCI, and at least 1 arm of the trial involved LEV therapy. Four of 5 studies reported significant cognitive improvement in patients with AD or MCI after the LEV trials, whereas 1 study found no significant change in cognitive status. The risk of bias assessment revealed that 4 studies had a low risk of bias. Among them, 3 showed significant improvement, whereas 1 did not report a significant change in cognitive function.

Conclusions: The efficacy of LEV therapy for cognitive impairment varies across studies owing to different methodologies, dosages, treatment durations, and outcome assessment tools. This study suggests that LEV may exert a beneficial impact on cognitive function in patients with AD or MCI. However, a quantitative comparison or meta-analysis is essential to draw definitive conclusions about the cognitive effects of LEV in AD and MCI.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Levetiracetam; Mild cognitive impairment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors approved that there are no interests to declare. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study screening and selection process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chehrehnegar N., Nejati V., Shati M., et al. Early detection of cognitive disturbances in mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review of observational studies. Psychogeriatrics. 2020;20:212–228. - PubMed
    1. Naveh-Benjamin M., Cowan N. The roles of attention, executive function and knowledge in cognitive ageing of working memory. Nat Rev Psychol. 2023;2:151–165.
    1. Kirova A-M, Bays R.B., Lagalwar S. Working memory and executive function decline across normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Paitel E.R., Samii M.R., Nielson KA. A systematic review of cognitive event-related potentials in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. Behav Brain Res. 2021;396 - PubMed
    1. Li R., Wang X., Lawler K., et al. Applications of artificial intelligence to aid early detection of dementia: a scoping review on current capabilities and future directions. J Biomed Inform. 2022;127 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources