Cognitive effects of antiepileptic drugs

Sung Pa Park, Soon Hak Kwon

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

188 Scopus citations

Abstract

Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) can adversely affect cognitive function by suppressing neuronal excitability or enhancing inhibitory neurotransmission. The main cognitive effects of AEDs are impaired attention, vigilance, and psychomotor speed, but secondary effects can manifest on other cognitive functions. Although the long-term use of AEDs can obviously elicit cognitive dysfunction in epilepsy patients, their cognitive effects over short periods of up to a year are in conclusive due to methodological problems. In general, the effects on cognition are worse for older AEDs (e.g., phenobarbital) than for placebo, nondrug condition, and newer AEDs. However, topiramate is the newer AED that has the greatest risk cognitive impairment irrespective of the comparator group. Since the cognitive impact of AEDs can be serious, clinicians should be alert to adverse events by evaluating cognitive function using screening tests. Adverse cog nitive events of AEDs can be avoided by slow titration to the lowest effective dosage and by avoiding polytherapy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)99-106
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Clinical Neurology (Korea)
Volume4
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Adverse event
  • Antiepileptic drug
  • Cognition

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Cognitive effects of antiepileptic drugs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this