Choosing Antiepileptic Drugs for Developmentally Normal Children With Specific Epilepsy Syndromes and Behavioral Disorders

Antiepileptic drugs are often used for the treatment of both epilepsy and a wide range of behavioral and psychiatric disorders. The treatment of patients with epilepsy has been the proving ground for antiepileptic drugs, not only with respect to their efficacy in the treatment of seizures but also for clarifying their dose-related and idiosyncratic adverse events. This information has been useful in treating patients with behavioral and psychiatric disorders. Indeed, the number of prescriptions written for many antiepileptic drugs for nonepileptic uses far exceeds those written for the same drugs for epilepsy. Because patients with chronic epilepsy have a higher incidence of axis I psychiatric disorders, physicians can choose an antiepileptic drug to treat both the epilepsy and psychiatric comorbidity in selected patients. Guided by the principles of evidence-based medicine as outlined by the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Pediatrics, this article reviews the application of antiepileptic drugs for epilepsy and behavioral and psychiatric disorders in children.