Your doctor is likely to prescribe antiepileptic drugs as treatment for your child
or loved one's Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS). LGS presents with many types of seizures,
and no single medication works for all seizures.57 As a result, your
doctor is likely to prescribe more than one kind of medication.
Seizure medications
Antiepileptic drugs are grouped into monotherapy and adjunctive (add-on) medications.
Although monotherapies can be given alone, adjunctive medications must be given
in addition to a monotherapy.
Talk to your doctor about the medications currently available for seizure control
and which ones might be most appropriate for your child. When prescribing multiple
medications, your doctor should be mindful of the effects that each new medication
will have. Because of this, it is important that your doctor knows all medications
your child or loved one is taking.
LGS presents with many types of seizures, and no single medication works for all
seizures.
Side effects
Most children who have LGS are given multiple medications to control seizures. The
goal of this therapy is to balance optimum seizure control with minimal side effects.58
Different anti-seizure medications have different side effects. Taking multiple
medications can result in both stronger side effects and different side effects.59
Also, children who show improvement initially from one medication may become tolerant
to a drug and resist its effects.60
As a result, your doctor must consider if the potential advantages of combination
therapy outweigh potential disadvantages.
|
Advantages61 include:
|
Disadvantages62 include:
|
- Better effectiveness
- Milder side effects
- Broader spectrum of seizure protection
|
- Increased number of side effects
- Increased intensity of side effects
- Difficulty of attributing a response to a given drug
- Cost and complexity of drug regimen
- Drug interaction may reduce effectiveness
|
Parents and caregivers who are looking for financial help for prescriptions may
qualify for some medication patient assistance program.
References
57 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "NINDS
Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome Information Page," Accessed August 07, 2009. Web. August
20, 2009. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/lennoxgastautsyndrome/lennoxgastautsyndrome.htm
58 Epilepsy Foundation. "Epilepsy Syndromes: Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome."
Web. Accessed August 20, 2009. http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/about/types/syndromes/lg.cfm
59 Engel, Jerome, et al. Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook,
2nd Edition, 2007. Page 1321, column 2.
60 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. "NINDS
Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome Information Page," Accessed August 07, 2009. Web. August
20, 2009. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/lennoxgastautsyndrome/lennoxgastautsyndrome.htm
61 Engel, Jerome, et al. Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook,
2nd Edition, 2007. Page 1322, column 1.
62 Engel, Jerome, et al. Epilepsy: A Comprehensive Textbook,
2nd Edition, 2007. Page 1322, column 1.