New antiepileptic drugs: into the new millennium.

Abstract

There has been an explosion of new antiepileptic drug availability for physicians to treat patients with recurrent seizures. Principal antiepileptic drugs consisted of 6 key agents for both generalized and partial epilepsy for nearly 8 decades. Since 1993, the availability of newer "second-generation" agents has nearly doubled the armamentarium available for the 2.5 million patients who have recurrent seizures. This new influx of medications has flooded the medical and lay community with choices never before appreciated. The promise of improved tolerability with different safety and efficacy profiles has been exciting for all involved in epilepsy management. While most of the newer agents have been approved for adjunctive use in medically refractory partial epilepsy with recurrent complex partial and secondarily generalized seizures, efficacy is expanding to include generalized epilepsy and children for some agents. Arch Fam Med. 2000;9:1135-1141