All eyes on the pros and cons of vigabatrin

Abstract

Vigabatrin is an effective drug for the treatment of epilepsy and has been available to clinicians for several years. However, long term experience with the drug has identified a disturbing and relatively common adverse event: visual field defects occur in approximately one third of patients treated with vigabatrin. The 23rd International Epilepsy Congress [ Prague, Czech Republic; September 1999 ] provided an opportunity for clinicians to talk about the visual field defect issue in detail and discuss whether the benefits of vigabatrin therapy still outweigh the risks.