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The Impact of Psychoactive Drugs on Seizures and Antiepileptic Drugs

  • Epilepsy (CW Bazil, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Psychiatric comorbidities are very common in patients with epilepsy, and in fact, a bidirectional relationship between epilepsy and some psychiatric disorders have been identified. However, despite their high prevalence, these comorbidities are not routinely recognized or adequately treated causing a significant burden for these patients. Atypical presentations of some of these psychiatric comorbidities in epilepsy, the concern that some psychotropic drugs may lower seizure threshold worsening frequency of seizures, possibility of many drug-drug interactions, and the negative impact of some antiepileptic drugs on psychiatric conditions are some of the challenges faced by clinicians. Although the main focus in epilepsy has remained on treatment of seizures, acknowledgment of these comorbidities and their timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment not only can impact patients’ quality of life but also may improve their response to antiepileptic therapies.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 833 S Wood Street, Room 164 (m/c 886), Chicago, IL, 60612, USA

    Mitra Habibi

  2. Clinical Neurology, University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 12850 E. Montview Blvd, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Felecia Hart

  3. School of Pharmacy, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Neurology, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 12850 E. Montview Blvd. Room V20-4126, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA

    Jacquelyn Bainbridge

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  1. Mitra Habibi
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Correspondence to Mitra Habibi.

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Mitra Habibi, Felecia Hart declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Jacquelyn Bainbridge has received advisory board fees from Sunovion and an investigator initiated study grant from UCB Pharma.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Epilepsy

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Habibi, M., Hart, F. & Bainbridge, J. The Impact of Psychoactive Drugs on Seizures and Antiepileptic Drugs. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 16, 71 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-016-0670-5

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