Therapeutic Effects of Time-Limited Treatment with Brivaracetam on Posttraumatic Epilepsy after Fluid Percussion Injury in the Rat

Mounting evidence suggests the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A) targeted by levetiracetam may contribute to epileptogenesis. Levetiracetam has shown anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, neuroprotective, and possible antiepileptogenic effects in brain injury and seizure/epilepsy models, and a phase 2 study has signaled a possible clinical antiepileptogenic effect. Brivaracetam shows greater affinity and specificity for SV2A than levetiracetam and broader preclinical antiseizure effects. Thus, we assessed the antiepileptogenic/disease-modifying potential of brivaracetam in an etiologically realistic rat posttraumatic epilepsy model optimized for efficient drug testing. Brivaracetam delivery protocols were designed to maintain clinical moderate-to-high plasma levels in young (5-week-old) male Sprague-Dawley rats for 4 weeks. Treatment protocols were rapidly screened in 4-week experiments using small groups of animals to ensure against rigorous testing of futile treatment protocols. The antiepileptogenic effects of brivaracetam treatment initiated 30 minutes, 4 hours, and 8 hours after rostral parasagittal fluid percussion injury (rpFPI) were then compared with vehicle-treated controls in a fully powered blind and randomized 16-week validation. Seizures were evaluated by video-electrocorticography using a 5-electrode epidural montage. Endpoint measures included incidence, frequency, duration, and spread of seizures. Group sizes and recording durations were supported by published power analyses. Three months after treatment ended, rats treated with brivaracetam starting at 4 hours post-FPI (the best-performing protocol) experienced a 38% decrease in overall incidence of seizures, 59% decrease in seizure frequency, 67% decrease in time spent seizing, and a 45% decrease in the proportion of spreading seizures that was independent of duration-based seizure definition. Thus, brivaracetam shows both antiepileptogenic and disease-modifying properties after rpFPI. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The rpFPI model, which likely incorporates epileptogenic mechanisms operating after human head injury, can be used to efficiently screen investigational treatment protocols and assess antiepileptogenic/disease-modifying effects. Our studies 1) support a role for SV2A in epileptogenesis, 2) suggest that brivaracetam and other drugs targeting SV2A should be considered for human clinical trials of prevention of post-traumatic epilepsy after head injury, and 3) provide data to inform the design of treatment protocols for clinical trials.