Abstract
Epilepsy is a symptom-related epileptic seizure that has numerous causes. One speaks of epilepsy when two epileptic seizures follow each other outside of 24 h or when there is an increased probability of new seizures occurring. Pharmacological epilepsy treatment is seizure therapy that involves the use of medications called antiepileptic drugs (ASDs). When selecting the appropriate antiepileptic drug, a distinction is made between focal and generalized epilepsies in adults. If a patient is not seizure-free after taking two ASDs, he or she is considered pharmacoresistant. In this case, other therapeutic methods such as epilepsy surgery can be used if the patient is suitable.
The timing of discontinuation of ASD after several years of being seizure-free cannot be determined on the basis of evidence. Many patients whose epilepsy continues beyond the age of 18 need to take ADS for the rest of their lives.
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Elger, C.E., Jeub, M. (2022). Anti-convulsant Agents: Beginning, Maintenance, Pharmacoresistance, Duration of Therapy, and Withdrawal – Adults. In: Riederer, P., Laux, G., Nagatsu, T., Le, W., Riederer, C. (eds) NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62059-2_279
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