Abstract
While several newer AEDs have study data that support monotherapy usage, most possess FDA indications for adjunctive treatment of partial onset seizures, leading to their initial (and often persistent) clinical use as adjunctive polytherapy for patients with refractory epilepsy. This review considers a practical approach to the appropriate role for polytherapy in epilepsy, presents, the evidence for AED polytherapy, reviews the mythic but practically reasonable concept of "rational polytherapy," and concludes with practical strategies for avoiding and employing polytherapy in clinical pratice. The appropriate indications for AED polytherapy include transtional polytherapy during titration of a new adjunctive AED toward monotherapy or long-term maintenance AED polytherapy in medically refratory epilepsy.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 96-105 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Current Neuropharmacology |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Antiepileptic drugs
- Drug interactions
- Drug load
- Epilepsy
- Polytherapy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pharmacology
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)