Anticonvulsants

The prescription medicines that treat and prevent seizures are called anticonvulsants (some refer to them as antiepileptic or anti-seizure drugs). Doctors may prescribe these drugs to treat other illnesses as well.

A seizure occurs when you experience a brief, uncontrollable burst of electrical activity in your brain. 

What is an Anticonvulsant medicine used for?

• Healthcare professionals prescribe the use of anticonvulsants in the treatment of epilepsy as well as in symptomatic seizure attacks. These drugs are commonly used in either the prevention or control of seizure events during and/or after surgical interventions on the brain. Anticonvulsant medications may also be prescribed for other conditions that are not seizure-related.
• Certain Anticonvulsant medications have FDA approval for other conditions. Other applications of the drug might be considered off-label. Conditions treated with off-label applications of some antiseizure medications include:
• Anxiety.
• Migraine headaches.
• Bipolar disorder.
• Neuropathic pain.
• Fibromyalgia.
• Restless leg syndrome.
• Parkinson’s disease.

How do Anticonvulsant Medicines work?

• Seizures occur when a malfunction makes neurons fire electrical signals uncontrollably. That creates a domino effect, so more and more neurons are engaged in producing abnormal electrical discharges.
• Antiseizure drugs act in various ways to either decrease excitation or enhance inhibition of processes leading to electrical signals. In particular, they can act by:
• Altering electrical activity in neurons by modulating ion (sodium, potassium, calcium and/or chloride) channels.
• Altering chemical transmission between neurons by modulating neurotransmitters (such as GABA).
• It’s an off-label use of the medication. 
• Anxiety.
• Migraine headache.
• Bipolar disorder.
• Neuropathic pain.
• Fibromyalgia.
• Restless leg syndrome.
• Parkinson’s disease.