Antiepileptic drugs and visual function

Abstract

Antiepileptic drugs are known to result in visual disturbances. A number of antiepileptic drugs have recently been reported to result in various abnormalities of vision, particularly deficiencies in visual fields and color vision. Moreover, there has been a marked improvement in the diagnosis and understanding of the pathophysiology of visual disturbance. This review collects evidence for visual adverse effects induced by the older antiepileptic drugs (barbiturates, benzodiazepine, carbamazepine, valproic acid, ethosuximide, and phenytoin) and the newer ones (vigabatrin, topiramate, tiagabine, levetiracetam, lamotrigine, gabapentin, felbamate, and oxcarbazepine).