Tiagabine: uses, dosing, side effects & brands

The most commonly observed adverse events in placebo-controlled, parallel-group, add-on epilepsy trials associated with the use of tiagabine HCl in combination with other antiepilepsy drugs not seen at an equivalent frequency among placebo-treated patients were dizziness/light-headedness, asthenia/lack of energy, somnolence, nausea, nervousness/irritability, tremor, abdominal pain, and thinking abnormal/difficulty with concentration or attention. Approximately 21% of the 2531 patients who received tiagabine HCl in clinical trials of epilepsy discontinued treatment because of an adverse event. The adverse events most commonly associated with discontinuation were dizziness (1.7%), somnolence (1.6%), depression (1.3%), confusion (1.1%), and asthenia (1.1%). In Studies 1 and 2 (U.S. studies), the double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, add-on studies, the proportion of patients who discontinued treatment because of adverse events was 11% for the group treated with tiagabine HCl and 6% for the placebo group. The most common adverse events considered the primary reason for discontinuation were confusion (1.2%), somnolence (1.0%), and ataxia (1.0%). Adverse Event Incidence in Controlled Clinical Trials: Table 5 lists treatment-emergent signs and symptoms that occurred in at least 1% of patients treated with tiagabine HCl for epilepsy participating in parallel-group,…

Tiagabine HCl is contraindicated in patients who have demonstrated hypersensitivity to the drug or its ingredients.

In evaluating the potential for interactions among co-administered antiepilepsy drugs (AEDs), whether or not an AED induces or does not induce metabolic enzymes is an important consideration. Carbamazepine, phenytoin, primidone, and phenobarbital are generally classified as enzyme inducers; valproate and gabapentin are not. Tiagabine HCl is considered to be a non-enzyme inducing AED (see PRECAUTIONS, General, Use in Non-Induced Patients ). The drug interaction data described in this section were obtained from studies involving either healthy subjects or patients with epilepsy. Effects of Tiagabine HCl on other Antiepilepsy Drugs (AEDs): Phenytoin : Tiagabine had no effect on the steady-state plasma concentrations of phenytoin in patients with epilepsy. Carbamazepine : Tiagabine had no effect on the steady-state plasma concentrations of carbamazepine or its epoxide metabolite in patients with epilepsy. Valproate : Tiagabine causes a slight decrease (about 10%) in steady-state valproate concentrations. Phenobarbital or Primidone : No formal pharmacokinetic studies have been performed examining the addition of tiagabine to regimens containing phenobarbital or primidone. The addition of tiagabine in a limited number of patients in three well-controlled studies caused no systematic changes in phenobarbital or primidone concentrations when compared to placebo. Effects of other Antiepilepsy Drugs (AEDs) on Tiagabine HCl: Carbamazepine : Population pharmacokinetic analyses indicate that tiagabine clearance is 60% greater in patients taking carbamazepine with or without other enzyme-inducing AEDs. Phenytoin : Population pharmacokinetic analyses indicate that tiagabine clearance is 60% greater in patients taking phenytoin with or without other enzyme-inducing AEDs. Phenobarbital (Primidone) : Population pharmacokinetic analyses indicate that tiagabine clearance is 60% greater in patients taking phenobarbital (primidone) with or without other enzyme-inducing AEDs. Valproate : The addition of tiagabine to patients taking valproate chronically had no effect on tiagabine pharmacokinetics, but valproate significantly decreased tiagabine binding in vitro from 96.3 to 94.8%, which resulted in an increase of approximately 40% in the free tiagabine concentration. The clinical relevance of this in vitro finding is unknown. Interaction of Tiagabine HCl with Other Drugs: Cimetidine : Co-administration of cimetidine (800 mg/day) to patients taking tiagabine chronically had no effect on tiagabine pharmacokinetics. Theophylline : A single 10 mg dose of tiagabine did not affect the pharmacokinetics of theophylline at steady state. Warfarin : No significant differences were observed in the steady-state pharmacokinetics of R-warfarin or S-warfarin with the addition of tiagabine given as a single dose. Prothrombin times were not affected by tiagabine. Digoxin : Concomitant administration of tiagabine did not affect the steady-state pharmacokinetics of digoxin or the mean daily trough serum level of digoxin. Ethanol or Triazolam : No significant differences were observed in the pharmacokinetics of triazolam (0.125 mg) and tiagabine (10 mg) when given together as a single dose. The pharmacokinetics of ethanol were not affected by multiple-dose administration of tiagabine. Tiagabine has shown no clinically important potentiation of the pharmacodynamic effects of triazolam or alcohol. Because of the possible additive effects of drugs that may depress the nervous system, ethanol or triazolam should be used cautiously in combination with tiagabine. Oral Contraceptives : Multiple dose administration of tiagabine (8 mg/day monotherapy) did not alter the pharmacokinetics of oral contraceptives in healthy women of child-bearing age. Antipyrine : Antipyrine pharmacokinetics were not significantly different before and after tiagabine multiple-dose regimens. This indicates that tiagabine does not cause induction or inhibition of the hepatic microsomal enzyme systems responsible for the metabolism of antipyrine. St. John’s wort : Concomitant use of St. John’s wort may enhance the metabolism of tiagabine. Interaction of Tiagabine HCl with Highly Protein Bound Drugs: In vitro data showed that tiagabine is 96% bound to human plasma protein and therefore has the potential to interact with other highly protein bound compounds. Such an interaction can potentially lead to higher free fractions of either tiagabine or the competing drug.