Seizures
Recent clinical, regulatory, research and industry developments relating to this disease.
Nonapoptotic caspase-3 guides C1q-dependent synaptic phagocytosis by microglia.
The critical dynamics of hippocampal seizures.
SV2B defines a subpopulation of synaptic vesicles.
Antiepileptic Strategies for Patients with Primary and Metastatic Brain Tumors.
Market withdrawal: Pregabalin Sandoz GmbH (EMA)
What's happening now
An analyst briefing on current research, clinical, regulatory and industry activity surrounding this disease.
- 5 clinical trials expected to report results, the earliest in Q4 2026.
- Q4 2026A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Focal-Onset Seizures
- Q1 2027Perioperative Randomized Evaluation of leVetiracetam's Efficacy and Safety for Epilepsy Prevention in Neurosurgical Tumor Patients (PREVENT): A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Parallel Trial
- Q2 2027A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic Seizures
- Q4 2027A Phase III, Randomized, Double-blinded Study of the Efficacy and Safety of LEvetiracetam to Prevent Seizures in Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease in Adults With Down Syndrome (the LESS-AD Trial).
- Q2 2031Short Versus Long-term Levetiracetam in Brain Tumors: A Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trial (LIBRA)
Clinical MilestonesViewHide
- 2026-07-08A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic SeizuresResults expected Q2 2027
- 2026-05-28Perioperative Randomized Evaluation of leVetiracetam's Efficacy and Safety for Epilepsy Prevention in Neurosurgical Tumor Patients (PREVENT): A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Parallel TrialResults expected Q1 2027
- 2026-05-14A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Focal-Onset SeizuresResults expected Q4 2026
- 2026-02-13Short Versus Long-term Levetiracetam in Brain Tumors: A Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trial (LIBRA)Results expected Q2 2031
- 2026-01-12A Phase III, Randomized, Double-blinded Study of the Efficacy and Safety of LEvetiracetam to Prevent Seizures in Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease in Adults With Down Syndrome (the LESS-AD Trial).Results expected Q4 2027
- 2026-06-10A Multicenter Open-Label Extension Study to Evaluate the Long-Term Safety of Cenobamate Adjunctive Therapy in Subjects With Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic SeizuresCompleted
- 2026-02-03A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Focal-Onset SeizuresCompleted
- 2025-11-12Frequency of Recurrence of Seizures With Intravenous Versus Intramuscular Magnesium Sulphate in Women With EclampsiaCompleted
- 2026-07-08ClinicalA Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter, Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic SeizuresResults expected Q2 2027
- 2026-06-10ClinicalA Multicenter Open-Label Extension Study to Evaluate the Long-Term Safety of Cenobamate Adjunctive Therapy in Subjects With Primary Generalized Tonic-Clonic SeizuresCompleted
- 2026-05-28ClinicalPerioperative Randomized Evaluation of leVetiracetam's Efficacy and Safety for Epilepsy Prevention in Neurosurgical Tumor Patients (PREVENT): A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Parallel TrialResults expected Q1 2027
- 2026-05-14ClinicalA Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Focal-Onset SeizuresResults expected Q4 2026
- 2026-02-13ClinicalShort Versus Long-term Levetiracetam in Brain Tumors: A Phase 3 Randomized Controlled Trial (LIBRA)Results expected Q2 2031
- 2026-02-03ClinicalA Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Phase 3 Study to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of XEN1101 as Adjunctive Therapy in Focal-Onset SeizuresCompleted
- 2026-01-12ClinicalA Phase III, Randomized, Double-blinded Study of the Efficacy and Safety of LEvetiracetam to Prevent Seizures in Symptomatic Alzheimer's Disease in Adults With Down Syndrome (the LESS-AD Trial).Results expected Q4 2027
- 2025-11-12ClinicalFrequency of Recurrence of Seizures With Intravenous Versus Intramuscular Magnesium Sulphate in Women With EclampsiaCompleted
Therapeutic landscape
Therapies with a regulatory footing for this condition, alongside the wider set of agents co-studied with it in the literature.
Approval — Ztalmy is indicated for the adjunctive treatment of epileptic seizures associated with cy… (2023)
Approval — Lacosamide Adroiq is indicated as monotherapy in the treatment of partial-onset seizures… (2023)
Approval — Adjunctive treatment of focal-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation in… (2021)
Approval — Treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome as an add-on therapy to other antie… (2020)
Approval — Epidyolex is indicated for use as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with Lennox G… (2019)
Approval — Kigabeq is indicated in infants and children from 1 month to less than 7 years of age for… (2018)
Clinical trials
The current development programme across all trial phases.
Regulatory timeline
Drug regulatory events matched to this condition by indication — EMA.
European Medicines Agency (CC BY 4.0). Events are matched to this condition by drug indication text — approvals/updates for drugs indicated for it, not disease-specific acts.
Research activity
Key research shaping understanding of this disease, combining the latest publications with the most influential evidence.
Major themes8
- Epilepsy15
- Seizures6
- Status Epilepticus4
- Brain Neoplasms2
- Deep Brain Stimulation2
- Genetic Therapy2
- Hippocampus2
- MicroRNAs2
Leading journals6
- Epilepsia6
- The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics3
- International journal of molecular sciences2
- Nature communications2
- The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience2
- The New England journal of medicine2
Leading researchers8
- Auvin S3
- Ramakrishnan S3
- Reddy DS3
- Singh T3
- Specchio N3
- Wiebe S3
- Wu X3
- Bartolomei F2
Affiliations (unnormalised)6
- Mayo Clinic6
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences3
- Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital3
- School of Medicine3
- University of Melbourne3
- Aga Khan University2
Disease biology
Key proteins & gene products studied in this disease. Number shows shared papers.
Related conditions
Diseases frequently studied alongside this one. Number shows shared papers.
Disease profile
A grounded synthesis of the condition — overview, causes, mechanism, risk factors and current standard of care.
Seizures are clinical or subclinical disturbances of cortical function caused by a sudden, abnormal, excessive, and disorganized discharge of brain cells. They can produce abnormal motor, sensory, and psychic phenomena. Recurrent seizures are generally referred to as epilepsy or seizure disorder.
The supplied grounding supports several associated causes or contexts, including chemically induced seizures and seizures related to brain tumors. It also supports seizures occurring in functional neurologic disorder as involuntary neurologic symptoms, and in broader epileptic disorders where inflammatory, genetic, and tumor-related mechanisms are discussed. No single universal cause is established in the grounding.
The core mechanism is abnormal, excessive, and disorganized cortical neuronal discharge. Inflammatory reactions in the brain can enhance neuronal excitability, impair neuronal survival, and increase blood-brain barrier permeability, which may promote seizures. Impaired KCC2 function can disrupt chloride homeostasis, weaken GABAergic inhibition, and contribute to epileptic activity; shared mechanisms with tumor growth and epilepsy are also noted in tumor-related epilepsy.
The grounding supports increased seizure risk in the setting of brain tumors, inflammatory CNS disease, and conditions associated with posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome such as preeclampsia/eclampsia, transplantation, autoimmune disease, and high-dose cancer chemotherapy. It also supports genetic contributions and sex characteristics as studied modifiers, but does not provide specific risk estimates. No additional risk factors are supported by the supplied material.
Treatment is described at the level of antiseizure medications, often used in conjunction with surgery and/or chemoradiotherapy for tumor-related epilepsy. Gross total resection is favored in brain tumor-related epilepsy from both oncologic and epilepsy perspectives. The grounding also supports broader drug therapy and surgery as management modalities, but does not specify particular regimens.
AI-generated summary grounded in MeSH and 6 peer-reviewed sources. Informational only — not medical advice. Generated 2026-07-07.
Reference
Authoritative identity, definition & identifiers.
Clinical or subclinical disturbances of cortical function due to a sudden, abnormal, excessive, and disorganized discharge of brain cells. Clinical manifestations include abnormal motor, sensory and psychic phenomena. Recurrent seizures are usually referred to as EPILEPSY or seizure disorder.
- Disease identity & definition — NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), public domain
- Clinical trials — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
- Research activity — Europe PMC (EMBL-EBI) + OpenAlex-derived paper links
- Related entities are derived from literature co-mention (studied together) — associative, not causal.