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…
Zonisamide Timothy E. Welty Zonisamide was first synthesized in 1974 in Japan. In the early 1980s, clinical trials of zonisamide were initiated in the United States. Because of an increased…
Topiramate Michael D. Privitera HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Topiramate (TPM) is a highly oxygenated sulfamate-substituted monosaccharide that is structurally distinct from other anticonvulsant medications. Available in the United States as Topamax (Ortho-McNeil…
Lamotrigine Frank G. Gilliam Barry E. Gidal CHEMISTRY AND MECHANISM OF ACTION Lamotrigine is a phenyltriazine, a tertiary amine derivative [3,5-diamino-6-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)-1,2,4-trizine; molecular weight, 256.09] that is poorly soluble in water…
Gabapentin and Pregabalin Michael J. McLean Barry E. Gidal Gabapentin (1-[aminomethyl]cyclohexaneacetic acid), or (3-cyclohexyl γ-aminobutyric acid [GABA]; see Fig. 59.1) resulted from bonding cyclohexane to the 3-position of the GABA…
Benzodiazepines L. John Greenfield Jr. Howard C. Rosenberg Richard W. Homan Benzodiazepines were developed in 1933 from a class of heterocyclic compounds known since 1891 (1). Clinical interest initially focused…
Ethosuximide Tracy A. Glauser Diego A. Morita HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The development of ethosuximide was a response to the need in the 1950s to develop a more effective, safer, and better…
Phenobarbital and Primidone Blaise F. D. Bourgeois HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Although its use has been decreasing, phenobarbital is still a major antiepileptic drug (AED). Phenobarbital (PB) has been prescribed for the…
Phenytoin and Fosphenytoin Diego A. Morita Tracy A. Glauser HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Phenytoin From the second half of the 19th century until 1938, the antiepileptic effect of commonly used medications (sodium…
