PURPOSE Determine the optimal initial monotherapy for children with newly diagnosed childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) based on 12 months of double-blind therapy. METHODS A double-blind, randomized controlled clinical trial compared the efficacy, tolerability, and neuropsychological effects of ethosuximide, valproic acid, and lamotrigine in children with newly diagnosed CAE. Study medications w...

The chapter summarizes literature on the teratogenic effects of anticonvulsants and presents data from the Swedish Medical Birth Register. Many anticonvulsants have a teratogenic effect which varies between individual drugs with the highest risk associated with the use of valproic acid and probably topiramide. For some much used drugs like carbamazepine and lamotrigine the risk is not much elev...

This study was performed to clarify alterations in lamotrigine (LTG) clearance during pregnancy and childbirth. Fourteen women on LTG monotherapy had LTG concentration samples obtained before conception and monthly. LTG apparent clearance, weight-adjusted relative clearance, and percentages of baseline clearance significantly differed between preconception baseline and each trimester and betwee...

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are diseases within the spectrum of severe cutaneous adverse reactions affecting skin and mucous membranes. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are used in combination, leading to potential pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic interactions, causing more adverse effects than might occur when the AED is taken as monotherapy. Here, we report...

Aim: Little is known about the consumption of antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy in the Czech Republic, particularly for newer agents. In our previous paper, we discussed long-term trends in the utilization of antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy in a group of 235 women between 1991–2006. Currently, we continue to investigate the long-term trends in antiepileptic drug use in pregnant women. Metho...

Allergic reactions to antiepileptic drugs in the form of skin rash are not uncommon but angioedema, an acute life threatening reaction is rare. Angioedema has been reported with the use of oxcarbazepine and carbamazepine. We report a case of a 33-year-old woman with focal epilepsy who developed angioedema following levetiracetam monotherapy. The patient had previous skin rashes with both phenyt...

Lamotrigine is a broad-spectrum anti-epileptic known to alleviate and prevent depression in bipolar disorder. 1–3 Its therapeutic mechanism remains unclear but at least in healthy controls it may increase brain activity in temporal and ventral prefrontal cortical regions. 4 These regions have also been implicated in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. 5–7 They are also part of a distribute...