Antiseizure Medications

Abstract The prevalence of epilepsy ranges between 0.6% and 1%, and perhaps 70 million worldwide suffer from this condition. The mainstay of treatment is drug therapy. In the past decade, many new antiseizure medications (ASMs) have been introduced, so that there are now approximately 30 medications available to treat epilepsy. The healthcare provider therefore has many choices. However, having many alternatives also allows for the possibility of choosing an inappropriate or a suboptimal agent. For most seizures, there is little difference in efficacy between the different agents, and other factors chiefly influence drug selection. These include the potential adverse effects, comorbid conditions, concomitant medications, age, and gender, among others. The choice of medication should be guided by knowledge and familiarity with the ASMs. This book is designed as a practical tool for physicians and other healthcare providers. While the authors include a brief formal discussion of the basic pharmacology of each ASM, this text emphasizes how to select and use ASMs in a variety of clinical contexts. The authors discuss choosing drugs when faced with various medical comorbidities; how to correctly prescribe, titrate, and taper drugs; how to monitor drug efficacy and side effects; how to diagnose and manage toxicity; interactions with other drugs; and other relevant issues. The text is designed to fill an unmet need and should lead to improved patient care.