Prakt. lékáren. 2022; 18(3): 140-146 | DOI: 10.36290/lek.2022.029

A current perspective on the pharmacotherapy of epilepsy

Tomáš Nežádal

Neurologické oddělení, Ústřední vojenská nemocnice - Vojenská fakultní nemocnice, Institut neuropsychiatrické péče, Neurochirurgická klinika, 1. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, Praha

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder with a relatively good prognosis. Up to 65 % of patients have been seizure free on pharmacological treatment for a long time. The development of pharmacotherapy aims at more targeted treatment with a minimum of adverse events and interactions with other drugs. However, the choice of antiepileptic drug depends not only on the mechanism of action or effect on the specific seizure type or syndrome, but also on a number of patient-related factors, such as age, sex or the presence of comorbidities, especially psychiatric ones. Epilepsy treatment is long-term and often lifelong. However, about 35 % of patients remain drug-resistant and are indicated for epilepsy surgery.

Keywords: epilepsy, pharmacotherapy, anti-seizure medication adverse events.

Accepted: October 13, 2022; Published: October 27, 2022  Show citation