About BANZEL
For parents and caregivers of patients with seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut
syndrome (LGS), a good day could be measured in unlikely ways. The simplest activities
are often out of reach. With fewer seizures, happiness might come
from seemingly small victories.
BANZEL (rufinamide) is a prescription medication approved for the adjunctive treatment
of seizures associated with LGS in children 4 years and older and adults.
BANZEL has been clinically proven to reduce seizures associated with LGS. In a clinical study
of patients with LGS, who were treated with BANZEL, in addition to their existing
medications, BANZEL:
- reduced the frequency of tonic-atonic seizures (drop attacks)
- reduced the frequency of total seizures
- reduced the severity of seizures
Read Important
Safety Information and the Medication Guide about BANZEL and discuss it with your
healthcare provider.
Patient safety and comfort is a primary concern. While BANZEL has the power to reduce
seizures associated with LGS, there are some risks. Please see Important Safety
Information below. We encourage you to talk to your healthcare provider about these
risks.
Additional benefits
In addition to delivering seizure control, BANZEL:
Always follow the recommendations of your healthcare provider and follow dosing
instructions exactly as prescribed.
From small victories
With control of seizures associated with LGS, BANZEL offers hope to families who
are looking for fewer seizures. With more seizure control, caregivers and their
loved ones can focus on the little things, the small victories. From these small
victories may come hope and happiness.
Ask your healthcare provider about adding BANZEL to an existing treatment.
Important Safety Information
There are risks associated with the use of BANZEL that you should know about.
We encourage you to talk to your healthcare provider about these risks.
- Patients with a history of Familial Short QT syndrome should not be treated with
BANZEL. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are unsure if this affects you or
your loved one. BANZEL has been shown to reduce the QT interval. Caution should
be used when administering BANZEL with other drugs that shorten the QT interval.
- All medications to treat seizures, including BANZEL, may cause suicidal thoughts
or actions in a very small number of people, about 1 in 500. Call your healthcare
provider right away if you or your loved one experiences new or worsening symptoms
of depression, unusual changes in mood or behavior, thoughts or actions about suicide
or self-harm, aggression, agitation, anger, anxiety, or irritability.
- Use of BANZEL has been associated with side effects such as sleepiness or feeling
tired, difficulty with coordination, dizziness, and problems with walking or movement.
- –Alcohol, in combination with BANZEL, may increase
or worsen these side effects.
- Call your healthcare provider if you or your loved one
experiences a rash. This can be a sign of a more serious condition, such as multi-organ
hypersensitivity reaction.
- You or your loved one should take BANZEL only as prescribed. Do not stop taking
BANZEL without first talking to your healthcare provider. Stopping BANZEL suddenly
can cause serious problems.
- Tell your healthcare provider about all the medications you or your loved one takes,
including prescription and non-prescription medications, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
Using BANZEL with certain medications can affect each other, causing side effects.
- In studies, the most commonly observed (≥10%) side effects with BANZEL vs placebo
(sugar pill with no medicine in it), respectively, were headache (25% vs 20%), dizziness
(17% vs 10%), feeling tired (15% vs 9%), sleepiness (13% vs 9%), and nausea (11%
vs 7%). Most of these side effects were mild to moderate in severity and typically
went away in a short amount of time.
This Web site contains information relating to various medical conditions and treatment.
Such information is provided for educational purposes only and is not meant to be
a substitute for the advice of a physician or other health care professionals. You
should not use this information for diagnosing a health problem or disease. In order
for you to make intelligent health care decisions, you should always consult with
a physician or other health care provider for you, or your loved one's, personal
medical needs.
All quotes included in this Web site represent the individual experience of some
doctors, some patients, and their caregivers. Individual responses to treatment
may vary.
This site is intended for residents of the United States only. Any products discussed
herein may have different product labeling in different countries.