Side effects of the most frequently used antiepileptic drugs
1. Big picture
Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), also called anti-seizure medications (ASMs), prevent seizures by reducing abnormal neuronal excitability. Because they act on ion channels and neurotransmitter systems in the brain, their most common side effects are neurological:
- sleepiness;
- dizziness;
- psychomotor slowing;
- ataxia;
- diplopia;
- tremor;
- cognitive slowing;
- behavioral or mood changes.
The key exam sentence:
Every antiepileptic drug can cause dose-dependent neurological side effects, especially sleepiness, dizziness and psychomotor slowing, while individual drugs have characteristic toxicities such as valproate-related weight gain/tremor, carbamazepine-related hyponatremia/leukopenia, phenytoin-related gingival hyperplasia/cerebellar atrophy, lamotrigine-related severe rash, topiramate-related weight loss/nephrolithiasis, and vigabatrin-related visual field loss.
2. General principles of AED side effects
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