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Antiepileptic Drugs in Pediatrics

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Pediatric Pharmacotherapy

Part of the book series: Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology ((HEP,volume 261))

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Abstract

Epilepsy affects approximately 1% of the population. First-line treatment for epilepsy is the administration of anti-seizure medication, also referred to as antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), although this nomenclature is erroneous as these medications typically do not impact underlying epileptogenic processes; the goal of these medications is to control symptoms. Over 30% of patients are classified as having “medically refractory” epilepsy, i.e., lack of adequate seizure control despite trials of two or three AEDs (Kwan and Brodie, N Engl J Med 342:314–9, 2000). Epilepsy is associated with worse quality of life in children, adolescents, and their families (Cianchetti et al., Seizure 24:93–101, 2015). Patients with epilepsy have a two to three times greater risk of death than the general population, by various causes including sudden unexplained death in epilepsy patients (SUDEP) (Abdel-Mannan et al., Epilepsy Behav 90:99–106, 2019). It is these factors, among others, that have motivated the continued development of AEDs. This chapter will review the history and evolution of AED development, features of specific AEDs with a focus on the newest generation, and examples of AEDs in development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epilepsy and Neurophysiology, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC, USA

    Tesfaye Zelleke, Archana Pasupuleti, Dewi Depositario-Cabacar & Amy Kao

  2. Center for Behavioral Neurosciences, Children’s National Health System, Washington, DC, USA

    Amy Kao

Authors
  1. Tesfaye Zelleke
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  2. Archana Pasupuleti
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  3. Dewi Depositario-Cabacar
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  4. Amy Kao
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Correspondence to Amy Kao .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital for Children and Adolescents Center of Paediatric Research Department of Women and Child Health, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Wieland Kiess

  2. Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch-Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Tüebingen, Tüebingen, Germany, Robert Bosch Gesellschaft fuer medizinische Forschung mbH, Stuttgart, Germany

    Matthias Schwab

  3. Children’s Hospital, University of Basel Children’s Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

    Johannes van den Anker

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Zelleke, T., Pasupuleti, A., Depositario-Cabacar, D., Kao, A. (2019). Antiepileptic Drugs in Pediatrics. In: Kiess, W., Schwab, M., van den Anker, J. (eds) Pediatric Pharmacotherapy . Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 261. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/164_2019_248

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