Epilepsy treatment
with medication

Medication for epilepsy

Medications for epilepsy are called anti-seizure medications (ASMs). They used to be called anticonvulsants or antiepileptic drugs.

With a few exceptions, all anti-seizure medications have a similarly strong effect, but in some cases they differ greatly from one another in their side effects and interactions.

An epileptologist (a neurologist specialized in epileptology) should, wherever possible, prescribe anti-seizure medications with a strong effect and few side effects and interactions.

Not all side effects of anti-seizure medications are bothersome. Some side effects can actually be beneficial, e.g. weight loss or mood stabilization. Sometimes side effects have to be accepted for lack of better anti-seizure medications.

Interactions are often a hindrance. However, some interactions can also be helpful. In any case, it is very important that the treating epileptologist knows the interactions of anti-seizure medications with one another and with other medications and responds to them appropriately.

As a general rule, older anti-seizure medications are less expensive but have more side effects and interactions. Newer anti-seizure medications, on the other hand, are more expensive but usually better tolerated because they have fewer side effects and interactions. Newer anti-seizure medications are also often available not only as tablets but also as an oral solution or for intravenous administration, which can be an advantage, e.g. in the case of swallowing difficulties.

It is very important that an epileptologist treats each epilepsy patient individually with the right, “tailor-made” anti-seizure medications.

If it turns out that patients with focal epilepsy cannot become seizure-free despite sufficiently high doses of at least two anti-seizure medications, this is referred to as drug resistance (pharmacoresistance).

In this case, the possibility of epilepsy surgery or stimulation therapy should be examined.