In the 1800s, both
anticonvulsants and epilepsy drugs already existed with epilepsy afflicting human beings since the dawn of our species and recognized in the earliest medical writings, while the introduction of bromides in 1857 started the era of anticonvulsant drugs. Today, years and years of research has made available many different types of anticonvulsants while about 3 million Americans of all ages are affected by epileptic seizures with approximately 200,000 new cases diagnosed every year.
Epilepsy is a brain disorder wherein a person is prone to having recurring seizures, which occur when the electrical signals sent by the brain nerve cells are disturbed. Partial or focal which affects just one part of the brain; and generalized seizures which affect both sides of the brain at the same time are two different types of seizures. In some cases, epilepsy is caused by accidents and trauma, in others it is caused by illness such as tumor, stroke or infection, while in others it is hereditary so there is no known specific cause for epilepsy.
These seizures if not controlled by proper medication could be dangerous and life-threatening because even a brief and infrequent seizure could put the patient and others at risk of injury. Epilepsy could be brought under control with the right treatment nor is it a condition that gets more severe the longer a patient has it.
Primary treatment for epilepsy is anti-seizure medicines called anticonvulsants or antiepileptic drugs to either prevent or reduce the occurrence of seizures with the least of side effects from the drugs. The patients seizure type is the primary criterion for the selection of anticonvulsant drugs. The use of anticonvulsants should be personalized to increase efficacy and safety by matching the right drug to the right patient because no single anticonvulsant is clearly superior to others.
To date, Topamax, manufactured by Ortho-McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has become the most prescribed anticonvulsant for the treatment of epileptic seizures. Congenital deformity could be a result of Topamax treatment during pregnancy as suggested by recent studies.
