Drug Safety
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Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders. Even though existing antiepileptic drugs can render 80% of newly diagnosed patients seizure free, a significant number of patients have chronic intractable epilepsy causing disability with considerable socioeconomic implications. There is, therefore, a need for more potent and effective antiepileptic drugs and drugs with fewer adverse effects, particularly CNS effects. ⋯ There is also the possibility of rational duotherapy, using drugs with known mechanisms of action, as an additional therapeutic approach. The efficacy of these 12 antiepileptic drug occurs despite the fact that candidate antiepileptic drugs are evaluated under highly unfavourable conditions, namely as add-on therapy in patients refractory to drug management and with high seizure frequency. Thus, whilst candidate drugs which do become licensed are an advance in that they are effective and/or are associated with less adverse effects than currently available antiepileptic drugs in these patients, it is possible that these drugs may exhibit even more improved risk-benefit ratios when used in normal clinical practice.