[Brivaracetam-A good alternative for the treatment of muscle cramps]

Background: Muscle cramps are suddenly occurring involuntary, mostly painful contractions of a single muscle, rarely of a muscle group. They can be idiopathic or occur in various neuromuscular diseases and can sometimes substantially impair the quality of life due to the frequency and strength. Only a few drugs are available for the effective treatment of cramps.

Results: In this case series we report on five patients with cramps of different origin who responded well to treatment with brivaracetam.

Discussion: Brivaracetam is actually used for the treatment of epileptic seizures. It binds to the synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A), which also occurs in nerves and nerve roots. The SV2A regulates the exocytotic release of neurotransmitters, which could explain the effect of brivaracetam on muscle cramps.

Conclusion: Further studies are needed to demonstrate the effect of brivaracetam on muscle cramps.

Keywords: Brivaracetam; Levetiracetam; Muscle cramps; Neuromuscular disease; Vesicle protein 2A.