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-rela