Zonisamide Use
Zonisamide Use
Zonisamide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on March 27, 2000 for the adjunctive treatment of partial seizures in adults. In their 2004 report, the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee and Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society concluded that zonisamide was effective in reducing seizure frequency as adjunctive therapy in adult patients with refractory partial seizures, but that there were not enough studies to support a recommendation for its use in children. While there are still relatively few controlled trials, six additional papers have been published in the last two years describing zonisamide use in infants and children, primarily in patients with seizures refractory to traditional antiepileptics (AEDs). This issue of Pediatric Pharmacotherapy will review the pharmacology of zonisamide and examine the recent papers describing its efficacy and adverse effects in the pediatric population.
The precise mechanism of zonisamide's antiepileptic effect remains undefined. It has been suggested that zonisamide raises the seizure threshold through action at sodium and calcium channels, stabilizing neuronal membranes and suppressing neuronal hypersynchronization.
Zonisamide was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on March 27, 2000 for the adjunctive treatment of partial seizures in adults. In their 2004 report, the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee and Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the American Epilepsy Society concluded that zonisamide was effective in reducing seizure frequency as adjunctive therapy in adult patients with refractory partial seizures, but that there were not enough studies to support a recommendation for its use in children. While there are still relatively few controlled trials, six additional papers have been published in the last two years describing zonisamide use in infants and children, primarily in patients with seizures refractory to traditional antiepileptics (AEDs). This issue of Pediatric Pharmacotherapy will review the pharmacology of zonisamide and examine the recent papers describing its efficacy and adverse effects in the pediatric population.
The precise mechanism of zonisamide's antiepileptic effect remains undefined. It has been suggested that zonisamide raises the seizure threshold through action at sodium and calcium channels, stabilizing neuronal membranes and suppressing neuronal hypersynchronization.
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