Drug treatment of epilepsy

Abstract

The difficulties of the drug treatment of epilepsy include the high prevalence of the disorder, poor prognosis, prolonged multidrug treatment, chronic toxicity, and uncertainty of the relative efficacy and toxicity of individual anticonvulsants. These problems are reviewed in relation to recent knowledge of the clinical pharmacology of the drugs, the application of which offers the possibility of a more simple, rational, and effective approach to therapy. There is considerable potential for monotherapy assisted by drug-level monitoring.