Stopping antiepileptic drugs in patients with epilepsy in remission: why, when and how?

Making a decision to withdraw antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with epilepsy in remission requires a careful assessment of many patient and disease related factors and the associated risks and benefits. Although unnecessary continuation of AEDs exposes the patients to unwarranted side-effects, a premature withdrawal with subsequent seizure recurrence may be distressing for the patient who otherwise considers himself as cured. Although the final decision needs to be individualized, there are certain guidelines which can help us in making evidence based decision. In this article, we intend to review the current evidence on this subject with an aim of providing a framework of the best clinical practice in this field.