Karachi
Epilepsy Foundation Pakistan President and noted neurophysician of the country Dr Fowzia Siddiqui has said that delay in treatment may worsen epilepsy; hence, better neurological facilities should be made available for citizens.
Talking about “the comparative safety and efficacy of anti-seizure drugs” at 23rd Neurology Update 2023, and 6th National Headache Conference at a local, she said it is necessary for the doctors to keep them updated on comparative safety and efficacy of the anti-seizure drugs.
She said there are more than 30 anti-seizure drugs (ASDs) available for clinical use; however the proportion of drug-refractory epilepsy remains the same.
She said the main advantages of the newer ASDs are, their novel mechanism of action, less of enzyme induction, less drug interactions and less risk of hypersensitivity, and safety in pregnancy.
She said it should be noted that many newer ASDs lack data on teratogenicity and idiosyncrasy. The best available studies comparing Standard and New Antiepileptic Drugs thus called the SANAD I and SANAD II, which examined seizure Control, tolerability, quality of life, and health economic outcomes.
Dr Fowzia Siddiqui said that the SANAD I study is aimed to compare the longer-term effects of ASDs in patients with generalized onset seizures or seizures that are difficult to classify in 2007.
She said the question raised was: what are the relative efficacies and longer-term effects of valproate, lamotrigine, and topiramate for patients with generalized onset seizures or seizures that are difficult to classify. She said in this regard the results are now used as part of the ILAE clinical guidelines.
