Antiepileptic Drugs
Combination Therapy and Interactions

This book reviews the use of antiepileptic drugs focussing on the interactions between these drugs and between antiepileptics/other drugs.

Jerzy Majkowski (Edited by), Blaise F. D. Bourgeois (Edited by), Philip N. Patsalos (Edited by), Richard H. Mattson (Edited by)

9780521822190, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 May 2005

514 pages, 16 b/w illus.
25.4 x 18.1 x 3.4 cm, 1.19 kg

'The book contains a wealth of information both for everyday practice and for more theoretical aspect. Interactions between AED … covered in great detail. … Why is this book so important? The authors explain it in their foreword. As a substantial proportion of patients with epilepsy will not become seizure free with one drug, combination therapy is necessary and therefore often used.' Official Journal of the European Paediatric Neurology Society

This book reviews the use of antiepileptic drugs focusing on the interactions between these drugs and between antiepileptics and other drugs. These interactions can be beneficial or can cause harm. The aim of this book is to increase awareness of the possible impact of combination pharmacotherapies. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions are discussed supported by clinical and experimental data. The book consists of five sections covering the general concepts and advantages of combination therapies, the principles of drug interactions, the mechanisms of interactions, drug interactions in specific populations or in patients with co-morbid health conditions, and concludes with a look at the future directions for this field of research. The book will be of interest to all who prescribe antiepileptics to epileptic and non-epileptic patients, including epileptologists, neurologists, neuro-pediatricians, psychiatrists and general practitioners.

1. Combination therapy of diseases: general concepts Emma Lam and Philip A. Routledge
2. Combination therapy with antiepileptic drugs: potential advantages and problems Richard H. Mattson
3. Pharmacogenetic aspects M. C. Walker, M. R. Johnson and Philip N. Patsalos
4. Pharmacokinetic principles and mechanisms of drug interactions Philip N. Patsalos
5. Predictability of metabolic antiepileptic drug interactions Edoardo Spina, Emilio Perucca and Rene Levy
6. Influence of food and drugs on the bioavailability of antiepileptic drugs C. A. Fontes Ribeiro
7. Interactions between antiepileptic drugs Bernhard Rambeck and Theodor W. May
8. Interactions between antiepileptic and non-antiepileptic drugs Jerzy Majkowski and Philip N. Patsalos
9. Pharmacodynamic principles and mechanisms of drug interactions Blaise F. D. Bourgeois
10. Methods for assessing pharmacodynamic interactions Blaise F. D. Bourgeois
11. Experimental studies of pharmacodynamic interactions Stanislaw J. Czuczwar
12. Clinical studies of pharmacodynamic interactions John R. Pollard and Jacqueline French
13. Clinical studies of pharmacodynamic interactions between antiepileptic agents and other drugs Gaetano Zaccara, Andrea Messori and Massimo Cincotta
14. Antiepileptic drug interactions in children Olivier Dulac, Elizabeth Rey and Catherine Chiron
15. Antiepileptic drug interactions in the elderly James C. Cloyd and Jeannine M. Conway
16. Antiepileptic drug interactions in pregnancy Mark S. Yerby
17. Antiepileptic drug interactions in handicapped and mentally retarded patients Matti Sillanpaa
18. Antiepileptic drugs and sex steroids Richard H. Mattson
19. Antiepileptic drug interactions in patients requiring psychiatric drug treatment Michael R. Trimble and Marco Mula
20. Antiepileptic drugs in non-epileptic health conditions - possible interactions Jerzy Majkowski
21. Drug monitoring in combination therapy W. Froscher
22. Cognitive side-effects due to antiepileptic drug combinations and interactions Albert P. Aldenkamp, Mark de Krom, I. Kotsopoulos and Jan Vermeulen
23. Selection of drug combinations in clinical practice - current and future perspectives Jerzy Majkowski
24. Future research - an experimental perspective R. A. Voskuyl, D. M. Jonker and R. H. Lopes da Silva
25. Future research - a clinical perspective C. A. Fontes Ribeiro.

Subject Areas: Psychiatry [MMH], Paediatric medicine [MJW], Neurology & clinical neurophysiology [MJN]