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Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1568-0266
ISSN (Online): 1873-4294

Recent Progress in Anticonvulsant Drug Research: Strategies for Anticonvulsant Drug Development and Applications of Antiepileptic Drugs for Non-Epileptic Central Nervous System Disorders

Author(s): Sevim Dalkara and Arzu Karakurt

Volume 12, Issue 9, 2012

Page: [1033 - 1071] Pages: 39

DOI: 10.2174/156802612800229215

Abstract

Major advances in antiepileptic drug therapy have taken place since 1950s. In the first period, several antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) such as phenobarbital, diphenylhydantoin, ethosuximide, carbamazepine, benzodiazepines and valproic acid were introduced to epilepsy treatment. After 1990 many new generation drugs (lamotrigine, topiramate, gabapentine, pregabaline, felbamate, lacosamide, levetiracetam etc.) have been developed. These novel AEDs have offered some advantages such as fewer side effects, fewer drug-drug interactions, and better pharmacokinetic properties. But pharmacoresistance and therapeutic failure in 20-25% of the patients remain the main reasons to continue efforts to find safer and more efficacious drugs and ultimate a treatment for this devastating disease. Several AEDs especially novel compounds have been found to be effective also in the treatment of several other neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Chemical diversity of the newer antiepileptic drugs as well as those currently in clinical development is another point that encourages medicinal chemists to study this subject. This review summarizes recent studies on the development of potential anticonvulsant compounds in different chemical structures, their structure-activity relationships and also therapeutic usages of AEDs other than epilepsy.

Keywords: Antiepileptic drug development strategies, anticonvulsant drug research, new anticonvulsant compounds, nonepileptic uses of AEDs, QSAR


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