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Review
. 2023 Sep 15:452:120766.
doi: 10.1016/j.jns.2023.120766. Epub 2023 Aug 14.

Drug-resistant epilepsy: Definition, pathophysiology, and management

Boulenouar Mesraoua  1 , Francesco Brigo  2 , Simona Lattanzi  3 , Bassel Abou-Khalil  4 , Hassan Al Hail  5 , Ali A Asadi-Pooya  6
Affiliations
Review

Drug-resistant epilepsy: Definition, pathophysiology, and management

Boulenouar Mesraoua et al. J Neurol Sci. .

Abstract

There are currently >51 million people with epilepsy (PWE) in the world and every year >4.9 million people develop new-onset epilepsy. The cornerstone of treatment in PWE is drug therapy with antiseizure medications (ASMs). However, about one-third of PWE do not achieve seizure control and do not respond well to drug therapy despite the use of appropriate ASMs [drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE)]. The aims of the current narrative review are to discuss the definition of DRE, explain the biological underpinnings and clinical biomarkers of this condition, and finally to suggest practical management strategies to tackle this issue appropriately, in a concise manner.

Keywords: Drug resistance; Epilepsy; Seizure; Treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest No funding was received for this review. This review was presented at the 5th Qatar International Epilepsy Course in January 12th, 2023 by the authors. We thank Hamad Medical Corporation, Neurosciences and Medical Education Departments for supporting this event.

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