Pharmaceutical Drug Keppra

Keppra

        My interest in the pharmaceutical drug Keppra comes from a somewhat personal experience. Keppra, the brand name of a drug called Levetiracetam, is an anticonvulsant. In September of 2014, my friend’s mother, whose name is Mary, was diagnosed with Stage Four lung cancer, but by the time that the oncology department at University Hospitals found the tumors in her lungs, the cancer had metastasized into her thyroid and pelvis. About a month after the initial diagnoses, Mary had a grand mal seizure and was rushed to the hospital, where an MRI showed four lesions, which were spread throughout her brain. Using Gamma rays, the oncologists and surgeons at University Hospitals were able to manage the size of the tumors, but were unfortunately not able to make them dissipate into nothing. So, in order to keep her from having more seizures, Mary’s board of doctors prescribed her Keppra. Fast-forward six months, and yet another troublesome event happened under Mary’s roof. One of Mary’s sons, whose name is Steven, had a grand mal seizure. He was rushed to Fairview Hospital, and after four days of tests, he was diagnosed with Epilepsy. One of his cortexes was actually misshapen, and larger than the other. In order to keep Steve from having more grand mal seizures, he was also prescribed Keppra. Despite the differences in the medical cases, both Mary and Steven were prescribed the same medicine, which I found particularly interesting. So, I am glad to have an opportunity to look further into the pharmaceutical drug that is Keppra.

        Keppra is used as an anticonvulsant medicine and is used to treat seizure disorders, such as epilepsy. It can be taken orally in either a tablet or liquid form; it can also be taken as an injection. In tablet form, there are four different colors that denote different amounts of medicine per tablet. According to the authors at PubChem, a website run by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Keppra is “available as 250 mg (blue), 500 mg (yellow), 750 mg (orange), and 1000 mg (white) (3).” When taken as a liquid, Keppra can come as a clear liquid with a grape flavor.

Most medicines come with an arsenal of side effects and warnings, and Keppra is no different. According to the authors of the U.S. National Library of Medicine website, many of the side effects of the drug (when taken orally) are behavioral and psychological, which makes sense because the drug is used to treat afflictions in the brain. There is a warning for depression, suicidal thoughts, and behavioral changes. Along with these psychological changed, there is a list of physical abnormalities such as fatigue, rashes, and inability or difficulty balancing. I know that in the medical case of Mary, my friend’s mother, both fatigue and difficulty with balancing presented themselves. Both orally and by injection, Keppra can cause a decrease in the number of blood cells (1&2). And if Keppra is taken through injection, there is a warning of muscle control and coordination loss, along with all of the side effects listed previously under the orally ingested medicine. After having his grand mal seizure and during his stay at the hospital, Steven had Keppra given to him through IV. He experienced more of the psychological side effects. For instance, he was incredibly irritable and rude towards the nurses while he was taking Keppra, and Steven is normally a very mild mannered person.