Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Acta Epileptologica, 1(3), 2021

DOI: 10.1186/s42494-021-00055-z

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The pharmacological treatment of epilepsy: recent advances and future perspectives

Journal article published in 2021 by Emilio Perucca ORCID
This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.
This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.

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Abstract

AbstractThe pharmacological armamentarium against epilepsy has expanded considerably over the last three decades, and currently includes over 30 different antiseizure medications. Despite this large armamentarium, about one third of people with epilepsy fail to achieve sustained seizure freedom with currently available medications. This sobering fact, however, is mitigated by evidence that clinical outcomes for many people with epilepsy have improved over the years. In particular, physicians now have unprecedented opportunities to tailor treatment choices to the characteristics of the individual, in order to maximize efficacy and tolerability. The present article discusses advances in the drug treatment of epilepsy in the last 5 years, focusing in particular on comparative effectiveness trials of second-generation drugs, the introduction of new pharmaceutical formulations for emergency use, and the results achieved with the newest medications. The article also includes a discussion of potential future developments, including those derived from advances in information technology, the development of novel precision treatments, the introduction of disease modifying agents, and the discovery of biomarkers to facilitate conduction of clinical trials as well as routine clinical management.