Antiepileptic drugs

Abstract

The Side Effects of Drugs Annuals form a series of volumes in which the adverse effects of drugs and adverse reactions to them are surveyed. The series supplements the contents of Meyler's Side Effects of Drugs: the International Encyclopedia of Adverse Drug Reactions and Interactions. This review of the 2011 publications on antiepileptic drugs covers carbamazepine, clobazam, eslicarbazepine, felbamate, gabapentin, lacosamide, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, phenobarbital and primidone, phenytoin and fosphenytoin, pregabalin, retigabine (ezogabine), rufinamide, sultiame, tiagabine, topiramate, valproate sodium and semisodium (divalproex), vigabatrin, and zonisamide. There are special reviews on perampanel, the interaction of carbapenems with valproate, and recent information on the teratogenicity of antiepileptic drugs. Data from the North America Pregnancy Registry Data show that drugs that have a greater than three-fold risk of teratogenicity compared with unexposed individuals are valproate (about a nine-fold risk), phenobarbital (about five-fold), and topiramate (about four-fold). Drugs for which the risk is from two to three times increased are clonazepam, carbamazepine, phenytoin, levetiracetam, and oxcarbazepine. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.