Treating epilepsy

Epilepsy is not one single disease but a major symptom in a wide variety of brain disorders, hence better referred to as the epilepsies. Treating epilepsy requires expert knowledge about the disorders themselves and the various treatment options. The basis for optimal treatment is a correct diagnosi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTidsskrift for den Norske Lægeforening Vol. 123; no. 13-14; pp. 1864 - 1868
Main Authors Gjerstad, Leif, Taubøll, Erik, Røste, Geir Ketil
Format Journal Article
LanguageNorwegian
Published Norway 26.06.2003
Subjects
Adult
Anterior Temporal Lobectomy
Anticonvulsants - pharmacology
Anticonvulsants - therapeutic use
Child
Drug Monitoring
Epilepsy - drug therapy
Epilepsy - surgery
Epilepsy - therapy
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Presynaptic Terminals - drug effects
Psychotherapy
Social Support
Status Epilepticus - therapy
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Summary:Epilepsy is not one single disease but a major symptom in a wide variety of brain disorders, hence better referred to as the epilepsies. Treating epilepsy requires expert knowledge about the disorders themselves and the various treatment options. The basis for optimal treatment is a correct diagnosis of the patient's type epilepsy and identification of seizure-provoking factors. The need for chronic drug treatment must be weighted against possible side effects. Several different drugs may be effective for a given type of seizure or epilepsy but drug effectiveness must be considered in relation to interactions and possible adverse effects. Even with optimal drug treatment, only about two thirds of patients achieve complete seizure control. In selected cases surgical treatment is very effective and should be considered in all patients who do not achieve seizure control within two years after having tried relevant antiepileptic drugs in optimal concentrations.
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ISSN:0807-7096