Vassallo, Paola;
Sander, Josemir W;
(2025)
Emptying the fridge syndrome: a case of nocturnal food craving associated with peak perampanel concentration.
Epilepsy & Behavior Reports
, 32
, Article 100821. 10.1016/j.ebr.2025.100821.
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Abstract
Perampanel, a non-competitive AMPA receptor antagonist, is widely used in treating focal and generalised epilepsy. We report the case of a 26-year-old man with pharmaco-resistant focal epilepsy who developed nocturnal compulsive food-seeking behaviour after off-label titration of perampanel to 24 mg/day. Symptoms resolved entirely after dose reduction, supporting a possible causal relationship. Pharmacokinetic data showed a 26 % increase in serum levels between near-trough and peak, potentially explaining the timing of nocturnal symptoms. This case underscores the importance of recognising atypical behavioural adverse events. Direct questioning is essential, as individuals may not spontaneously report such symptoms due to stigma or fear of losing seizure control.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Emptying the fridge syndrome: a case of nocturnal food craving associated with peak perampanel concentration |
| Location: | United States |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ebr.2025.100821 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebr.2025.100821 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Perampanel, Epilepsy, Therapeutic drug monitoring, Adverse effects, Food craving |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10215661 |
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