Abstract

Levetiracetam is a homologue of piracetam with an a-ethyl side-chain substitution and it is a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved antiepileptic drug. Recently, several studies have found that levetiracetam was able to reduce seizure frequency in epileptic seizures patients without affecting their cognitive functions. In the present review, the effects of levetiracetam on cognitive improvement were summarized in epileptic seizures patients with or without Alzheimer's disease (AD), high-grade glioma (HGG) patients and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients. In addition, levetiracetam was observed to improve the cognitive deficits in normal aged animals and the transgenic animal models with AD, suggesting that levetiracetam may be a better choice for the prevention or treatment of AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Cognition deficits, Epileptic seizures, Levetiracetam.

Graphical Abstract