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Mechanisms of action of new antiepileptic drugs
R L Macdonald1, L J Greenfield
1Department of Neurology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, USA.
Current Opinion in Neurology
|April 1, 1997
Abstract:
Many new antiepileptic drugs have been developed to treat seizure disorders. The established antiepileptic drugs reduce neuronal excitability by promoting sodium channel inactivation, inhibiting T-type calcium channels, or enhancing gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor-mediated inhibition. Several of the newer agents employ similar mechanisms, whereas others may enhance gamma-aminobutyric acid-ergic inhibitory systems or inhibit glutamatergic excitatory neurotransmission, and may be neuroprotective or antiepileptogenic.