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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Is Keppra Prescribed For?

My brother was diagnosed w/stage 4 lung cancer the size of a man s fist that had metastasized to his liver in May of this year. They gave him days to live. He has responded well to the drugs (Chemo) and it has continued to shrink each time they evaluated him. Last week he got a good evaluation, came home and fell & couldn t get up. They called 911 and took him back to Hospital, discovered he has small cell cancers all over his brain & can do radiation but no chemo. They are making his cap for the radiation. He is also taking Keppra. Can you tell us what this is supposed to do and what the side effects are. We heard the side effects are pretty bad. He has gone downhill rapidly in less than a week. Not functioning right.
Mon, 28 May 2018
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Neurologist,  's  Response
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice.

Keppra (levetiracetam) is a medication prescribed to prevent seizures. The fact that he has brain metastases makes him someone at risk of having seizures. It is one of the most commonly used drugs and compared to other antiseizure medication its side effects are not frequent, most common one is behavior changes, but it remains one of the most benign drugs.
In my clinic we start an antiepileptic only if a patient has had a seizure, but there are clinics who start preventive medication in brain cancer patients even in the absence of a seizure as they consider such patients to be at a high risk, so that must be why they started it. Or it may be also be that they think that his fall at home was due to a seizure, tough for me to say what their reason was without more information.

Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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What Is Keppra Prescribed For?

Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advice. Keppra (levetiracetam) is a medication prescribed to prevent seizures. The fact that he has brain metastases makes him someone at risk of having seizures. It is one of the most commonly used drugs and compared to other antiseizure medication its side effects are not frequent, most common one is behavior changes, but it remains one of the most benign drugs. In my clinic we start an antiepileptic only if a patient has had a seizure, but there are clinics who start preventive medication in brain cancer patients even in the absence of a seizure as they consider such patients to be at a high risk, so that must be why they started it. Or it may be also be that they think that his fall at home was due to a seizure, tough for me to say what their reason was without more information. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.