https://goo.gl/vWDhFQ
Despite the arrival of newer anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), seizure control hasn't improved in the last several decades, researchers found.
Throughout the trial, there was a marked increase in the use of newer AEDs: the first decade was dominated by carbamazepine, valproate, and phenytoin as initial therapy, while the latter decade was dominated by valproate, levetiracetam, and lamotrigine as initial monotherapy.
"While some modern AEDs have novel anti-seizure mechanisms, their increasing use did not seem to have improved overall long-term seizure control," the authors wrote. "This may be attributed to deficiencies in the preclinical and clinical strategies of AED development," such as enrollees being required to have established epilepsy and a high frequency of seizures.
"The results of this study suggest that the advent of new pharmacological therapies has had little impact on the proportion of newly diagnosed people rendered seizure-free" -- a finding that "is not new and should not be surprising."
Even with the best management, Hauser wrote, "only about two-thirds of people with newly diagnosed epilepsy will be successfully treated ... Resources need to be dedicated to developing anti-epilepsy therapies that interfere with or reverse the underlying disease process, rather than merely identifying agents that suppress seizures."