Issues of Medical Intractability for Surgical Candidacy Patrick Kwan Martin J. Brodie INTRODUCTION Although the effectiveness of epilepsy surgery for patients with surgically remediable syndromes refractory to antiepileptic drug (AED)…
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy James W. Wheless Epilepsy and seizures affect at least 2.3 million individuals in the United States (1). Although antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the primary form of…
The Ketogenic Diet Douglas R. Nordli Jr. Darryl C. De Vivo INTRODUCTION The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, low-protein regimen that has been used for more than 70 years…
Less Commonly Used Antiepileptic Drugs Basim M. Uthman Ahmad Beydoun INTRODUCTION Despite the availability of a large number of marketed antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), physicians use only a few to treat…
Newer Antiepileptic Drugs Norman Delanty Jacqueline A. French Despite advances and optimal current therapy, there remains a continuing need for the development of new agents for patients with epilepsy (1,…
Adrenocorticotropin and Steroids Melinda A. Nolan O. Carter Snead III HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The first report of the efficacy of adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) therapy for childhood seizures appeared in 1950, when Klein…
Vigabatrin Elinor Ben-Menachem HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Although it was known that decreases in brain gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) caused convulsions in animals and agents that enhanced GABA-mediated functions could have an anticonvulsant…
Tiagabine Steven C. Schachter HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CHEMISTRY Tiagabine (-)-(R)-1-[4,4-Bis(3-methyl-2-thienyl)-3-butenyl] nipecotic acid hydrochloride (TGB; Gabitril, Abbot Laboratories, Cephalon, Inc. West Chester, Pennsylvania) received regulatory clearance from the US Food and…
Levetiracetam Joseph I. Sirven Joseph F. Drazkowski Levetiracetam (LEV) is a novel antiepileptic drug (AED) approved in 2000 by the US Food and Drug Administration as adjunctive therapy for patients…
