New Horizons in the development of antiepileptic drugs: Innovative strategies.

Full Abstract

The past decades have brought many advances to the treatment of epilepsy. However, despite the continued development and release of new antiepileptic drugs, many patients have seizures that do not respond to drug therapy or have related side effects that preclude continued use. Even in patients in whom pharmacotherapy is efficacious, current antiepileptic drugs do not seem to affect the progression or the underlying natural history of epilepsy. Furthermore, there is currently no drug available which prevents the development of epilepsy, e.g. after head trauma or stroke. Thus, there are at least four important goals for the future:
(1) development of better antiepileptic ("anti-ictal") drugs with higher efficacy and tolerability to stop seizures compared to current medications; (2) better understanding of processes leading to epilepsy, thus allowing to create therapies aimed at the prevention of epilepsy in patients at risk; (3) development of disease-modifying therapies, interfering with progression of epilepsy, and (4) improved understanding of neurobiological mechanisms of pharmacoresistance, allowing to develop drugs for reversal or prevention of drug resistance. The third Workshop on New Horizons in the Development of Antiepileptic Drugs explored these four goals for improved epilepsy therapy, with a focus on innovative strategies in the search for better anti-ictal drugs, for novel drugs for prevention of epilepsy or its progression, and for drugs overcoming drug resistance in epilepsy. In this conference review, the current status of antiepileptic therapies under development is critically assessed, and innovative approaches for future therapies are highlighted.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Löscher, Wolfgang (W); Schmidt, Dieter (D);

Affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Pharmacy, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bunteweg 17, 30559 Hannover, Germany.

Grants: Z01 NS002732-19 (Agency:NINDS NIH HHS)

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Congresses

Journal: Epilepsy research (Epilepsy Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Jun; vol 69 (issue 3) : pp 183-272

Dates: Created 2006/07/11; Completed 2006/08/18; Revised 2008/11/20;

PMID: 16835945, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals
Anticonvulsants - pharmacology; therapeutic use
Drugs, Investigational

Drugs, Investigational
Epilepsy - drug therapy
Humans

Associated Chemicals: Anticonvulsants (0) ; Drugs, Investigational (0)

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

Development of new antiepileptic drugs: challenges, incentives, and recent advances. 30 Aug 2007
Emerging drugs for epilepsy. 30 Aug 2007
Enaminones: Exploring additional therapeutic activities. 29 Sep 2007
Emerging drugs for epilepsy and other treatment options. 29 Sep 2007
Pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and pharmacogenetic targeted therapy of antiepileptic drugs. 30 Mar 2008
[Etiopathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy] 30 Oct 2007
[Patients with epilepsy in the family doctor's office] 17 May 2008
Lack of pharmacokinetic interaction of levetiracetam on carbamazepine, valproic acid, topiramate, and lamotrigine in children with epilepsy. 23 Jul 2007
A novel mutation causing DEND syndrome: a treatable channelopathy of pancreas and brain. 23 Jul 2007
Rufinamide: a new anti-epileptic medication. 30 Jul 2007

See 100+ related articles.