Cardiovascular safety of fenfluramine in the treatment of Dravet syndrome: Analysis of an ongoing long‐term open‐label safety extension study

Abstract

Objective

Fenfluramine, which was previously approved as a weight loss drug, was withdrawn in 1997 when reports of cardiac valvulopathy emerged. The present study was conducted in part to characterize the cardiovascular safety profile of low‐dose fenfluramine when used in a pediatric population to reduce seizure frequency in patients with Dravet syndrome.

Methods

Patients 2‐ to 18‐years‐old with Dravet syndrome who had completed any of three randomized, placebo‐controlled clinical trials of fenfluramine were offered enrollment in this open‐label extension (OLE) study. All patients were treated with fenfluramine starting at a dose of 0.2 mg/kg/day (oral solution dosed twice per day), which was titrated to maximal effect with a dose limit of 0.7 mg/kg/day (maximum 26 mg/day) or 0.4 mg/kg/day (maximum 17 mg/day) in patients receiving concomitant stiripentol. Standardized echocardiographic examinations were conducted at Week 4 or 6 and then every 3 months during the OLE study to monitor cardiac valve function and structure and pulmonary artery pressure. The primary end point for the echocardiography analysis was the number of patients who developed valvular heart disease or pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) during treatment.

Results

A total of 232 patients were enrolled in the study. The average age of patients was 9.1 ± 4.7 years, and 55.2% were male. The median duration of treatment with fenfluramine was 256 days (range = 58‐634 days), and the mean dose of fenfluramine was 0.41 mg/kg/day. No cases of valvular heart disease or PAH were observed.

Significance

Longitudinal echocardiography over a median 8.4 months of treatment with fenfluramine suggests a low risk of developing cardiac valvulopathy and PAH when used to treat pediatric patients with Dravet syndrome.