HEALTH CARE
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
FDA Approves Epilepsy Drug: The first new epilepsy drug in more than 10 years has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The drug, felbamate, will be prescribed to prevent partial seizures in adults. It was also approved for use to treat a rare form of epilepsy in children known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. About 2.5 million Americans have epilepsy and 125,000 new patients are diagnosed each year. In clinical trials, felbamate reduced the frequency of seizures and had minimal side effects, the FDA said. Wallace Laboratories of Cranbury, N.J., will market the new drug under the brand name Felbatol.
