Epilepsy is a disease accompanied by convulsive seizures, and loss of consciousness is also possible. The reason is the excessive electrical activity of a certain group of neurons in the brain. The first signs of the disease can manifest themselves in the interval from 5 to 15 years. It should be borne in mind that seizures can be caused by a brain tumor, traumatic brain injury – not always epilepsy. Therefore, a clear diagnosis and consultation with an experienced doctor is always important. In this article, we will talk about Anti-Epileptic Drug Characteristics. This will help you better understand the basic principles of the treatment of this disease.

The specificity of this disease

Epilepsy has an international classification into types:

• Generalized disease. The influence on both hemispheres of the brain is characteristic, in turn they are divided into clonic, rolandic, tonic, myoclonic, residual, etc.
• Focal and local epilepsy. They result in a disturbance of consciousness. Also, epilepsy can be dyscirculatory, when vascular modifications entail venous disorders, and epileptic encephalopathy also occurs.

The effectiveness of antiepileptic drugs in pharmacology

Any methods and medicines are aimed at maximizing the quality of life of the patient. If you consult a doctor in time and start taking the appropriate medications, you can reduce the frequency or even stop the attacks. The concept of treatment will depend on the results of the study. Treatment occurs according to the principle of monotherapy – they begin with the introduction of the minimum dose of the drug, gradually increasing it – until the seizures completely stop. The main goal is to minimize the number of seizures that occur at least 2 times a day. Prevention is very important – to avoid infectious diseases, intoxications, a timely decrease in body temperature to acceptable limits is necessary.

The goal of pharmacotherapy in epilepsy is the complete elimination of epileptic seizures in the absence of side effects. This goal is achieved in 60% of patients with epilepsy who need treatment. Unfortunately, many patients experience intolerance to the side effects of drug therapy or resistance to ongoing drug treatment.

Monotherapy is important because it reduces the likelihood of side effects and eliminates problems associated with drug interactions. In addition, monotherapy may be cheaper, since many drugs (mostly traditional ones) have the ability to activate liver biotransformation processes by inducing enzymes, which leads to a decrease in plasma concentrations of concomitant therapy drugs and thus requires an increase in dose.