Drug types

water glass with pills The most effective treatment for seizure disorders is the use of anticonvulsant drugs. While anticonvulsant drugs can not cure epilepsy, they greatly reduce or eliminate the incidence of seizures.

Common anticonvulsants

The following table lists some of the common anticonvulsants (and their drug classes), the types of seizure they're used for, and adverse effects they could cause.

Some of the drugs have been hyperlinked to specific Web pages with more information about those drugs, if you want to know more about them. These pages will open up in new browser windowns. To return to this lesson, just close the other windows.

Drug class & specific examples	Type of seizure	Adverse effects
class = Hydantoin example: phenytoin (Dilantin)	Tonic-clonic Partial	dizziness drowsiness confusion ataxia nausea gingival hyperplasia megaloblastic anemia leukopenia
class = Tricyclic example: carbamazepine (Epitol, Tegretol)	Tonic-clonic Partial	sedation dizziness fatigue confusion ataxia nausea blood dyscrasias hepatotoxicity
class = Carboxylic acid example: valproic acid (Depakene, Depakote)	Tonic-clonic Partial Absence Myoclonic	anorexia diarrhea nausea drowsiness ataxia irritability confusion headache leukopenia thrombocytopenia hepatotoxicity prolonged bleeding time
class = Succinimide example: ethosuximide (Zarontin)	Absence Myoclonic Atonic	ataxia sedation dizziness hallucinations behavioral changes headache Stevens-Johnson syndrome systemic lupus erythematosus nausea anorexia
class = Benzodiazepine example: clonazepam (Klonopin)	Absence Myoclonic Atonic	tachycardia drowsiness fatigue anxiety ataxia headache dizziness blurred vision xerostomia
class = Barbiturate derivative example: primidone (Mysoline)	Tonic-clonic Partial	drowsiness vertigo ataxia behavioral changes headache nausea
class = Barbiturate example: phenobarbital (Barbita, Luminal, Solfoton)	Tonic-clonic Partial	dizziness lightheadedness sedation ataxi impaired judgment skin rashes

For more information about the drugs in the table above or in the list below, be sure to check out the Epilepsy Foundation’s Medicines for Epilepsy. You can look up specific medications by clicking on the last link, Identification Chart, in the menu to the right. (This link opens up in a new browser window.)

Other anticonvulsants

Researchers continue to develop newer anticonvulsant drugs for epilepsy. Some of those are listed below:

felbamate (Felbatol)
gabapentin (Neurontin)
lamotrigine (Lamictal)
levetiracetam (Keppra)
oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
tiagabine (Gabitril)
topiramate (Topamax)
zonisamide (Zonagran)