Antiseizure Medication
Antiseizure medications (ASMs) are pharmacological therapies used to reduce the occurrence or severity of seizures and to treat epilepsy and acute seizure emergencies, including status epilepticus.
Antiseizure medications (ASMs) are pharmacological therapies used to reduce the occurrence or severity of seizures and to treat epilepsy and acute seizure emergencies, including status epilepticus. They act on neuronal excitability through several mechanisms, including modulation of voltage-gated ion channels, enhancement of inhibitory neurotransmission, and reduction of excitatory signaling. Sodium channel blockers such as carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, and lamotrigine represent one important group; other ASMs include (S)-etiracetam, cenobamate, and perampanel, which act through distinct pharmacological pathways. Selection may involve seizure type, comorbidities such as anxiety or depression, adverse-event risk, drug interactions, and concomitant antiseizure medication use.
In clinical practice, ASMs may be prescribed as monotherapy or adjunctive treatment, with treatment response assessed by seizure reduction, seizure freedom, tolerability, functioning, and retention. Their use extends beyond established epilepsy to selected settings in which seizure risk is being managed, including ischemic stroke, brain tumor care, postoperative neurosurgery, and neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. The balance between treatment and avoidance remains context-dependent: studies have examined rapid rescue treatment, medication tapering during video-EEG monitoring, and whether prophylactic treatment is necessary after aneurysm clipping or in neonates without clinically evident seizures. Non-pharmacological approaches such as vagus nerve stimulation may be considered alongside medication when seizure control remains difficult.
Where the papers sit
10 papers from the last 6 months study Antiseizure Medication directly · updated from PubMed 8 Oct 2026
Study type 0 clinical trials · 7 observational · 2 human data · 1 unclassified
Themes 3 themes · 1 new direction
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Individualized Epilepsy Treatment
Individualized antiseizure prescribing is becoming the focus, linking treatment response and tolerability with survival, comorbidity, and patient circumstances. Breath signatures are being explored as markers of medication response and tolerability, while dementia studies examine survival after the first antiseizure medication. Enzyme-inducing drugs remain a concern in contraceptive prescribing, especially among Medicaid beneficiaries. Precision regulation and monitored tapering in epilepsy units address when treatment should be adjusted or stopped.
5 papers · 50%
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Acute Seizure Management
Acute seizure care is shifting toward faster treatment and more selective prophylaxis. Quality-improvement work targets shorter seizure-to-rescue intervals in pediatric intensive care. Neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy is being evaluated through a scoping review of prophylactic antiseizure medication practices, while postoperative seizure incidence after aneurysm clipping is assessed without routine prophylaxis. The shared question is when rapid rescue or preventive medication improves outcomes enough to justify treatment exposure.
3 papers · 30%
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Others — Seizure Risk and Prevention
Seizure risk is being examined across ischemic stroke recovery and epilepsy prevention, but the clinical questions remain distinct. After pediatric ischemic stroke, acute seizure patterns are linked to functional outcomes, mortality, and remote seizures. A retrospective cohort study evaluates metformin as a possible preventive or seizure-control treatment in people without diabetes. Together, the studies identify seizure prevention and prognosis as targets, without establishing a common intervention or direction.
2 papers · 20%
Antiseizure medication prescribing becomes a structured source of prospective evidence
The paper on antiseizure medication regulation in Europe treats ASM use not only as individualized treatment but also as a predefined, auditable learning pathway: conversion from effective adjunctive therapy to secondary monotherapy could simplify care while generating otherwise limited evidence on drug-specific effectiveness, tolerability, functioning, and retention. This gives ASM prescribing a regulatory and evidence-generating role beyond the treatment, monitoring, tapering, and prophylactic uses represented elsewhere in the set. 42825785Oct
Papers
The 10 papers from the last 6 months that study Antiseizure Medication directly, newest first, by theme and by study type. Study types come from PubMed publication types and MeSH headings.
By theme
Individualized Epilepsy Treatment (5)
- Contraceptive and Enzyme-Inducing Antiseizure Medication Coprescription Among US Medicaid Beneficiaries With Epilepsy. Neurology · 7 Oct 2026 PMID 42842852
- Precision medicine requires precision prescribing: rethinking antiseizure medication regulation in Europe. Current medical research and opinion · 2 Oct 2026 PMID 42825785
- Breath Signatures of Antiseizure Medication Response and Tolerability in Adults With Epilepsy. CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 28 Sept 2026 PMID 42803756
- Optimizing Antiseizure Medication Taper in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Neurology. Clinical practice · 13 May 2026 PMID 42128443
- Differences in Survival Associated With the First Antiseizure Medication in People With Dementia and Epilepsy. Neurology · 17 Apr 2026 PMID 41996657
Acute Seizure Management (3)
- Incidence of postoperative seizures after clipping of unruptured intracranial aneurysms without prophylactic antiseizure medications: a prospective noninferiority cohort study. Neurosurgical review · 4 Aug 2026 PMID 42550277
- Prophylactic antiseizure medication administration practices in neonates with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy: a scoping review protocol. BMJ open · 21 Jul 2026 PMID 42481195
- Reducing Time to Seizure Treatment in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Through Quality Improvement Methodology: Seizure to Rescue. Neurology. Clinical practice · 19 May 2026 PMID 42155074
Others — Seizure Risk and Prevention (2)
- Associations of Acute Seizure Patterns With Functional Outcomes, Mortality, and Remote Seizures After Pediatric Ischemic Stroke. Journal of the American Heart Association · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42714418
- Evaluation of metformin for epilepsy prevention or seizure control in people without evidence of diabetes: retrospective cohort study. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 13 May 2026 PMID 42128620
By study type
Observational studies and case reports (7)
- Contraceptive and Enzyme-Inducing Antiseizure Medication Coprescription Among US Medicaid Beneficiaries With Epilepsy. Neurology · 7 Oct 2026 PMID 42842852
- Breath Signatures of Antiseizure Medication Response and Tolerability in Adults With Epilepsy. CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 28 Sept 2026 PMID 42803756
- Associations of Acute Seizure Patterns With Functional Outcomes, Mortality, and Remote Seizures After Pediatric Ischemic Stroke. Journal of the American Heart Association · 9 Sept 2026 PMID 42714418
- Incidence of postoperative seizures after clipping of unruptured intracranial aneurysms without prophylactic antiseizure medications: a prospective noninferiority cohort study. Neurosurgical review · 4 Aug 2026 PMID 42550277
- Evaluation of metformin for epilepsy prevention or seizure control in people without evidence of diabetes: retrospective cohort study. Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 13 May 2026 PMID 42128620
- Optimizing Antiseizure Medication Taper in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. Neurology. Clinical practice · 13 May 2026 PMID 42128443
- Differences in Survival Associated With the First Antiseizure Medication in People With Dementia and Epilepsy. Neurology · 17 Apr 2026 PMID 41996657
Human data, design not indexed (2)
- Prophylactic antiseizure medication administration practices in neonates with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy: a scoping review protocol. BMJ open · 21 Jul 2026 PMID 42481195
- Reducing Time to Seizure Treatment in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Through Quality Improvement Methodology: Seizure to Rescue. Neurology. Clinical practice · 19 May 2026 PMID 42155074
Unclassified: not yet indexed with MeSH (1)
- Precision medicine requires precision prescribing: rethinking antiseizure medication regulation in Europe. Current medical research and opinion · 2 Oct 2026 PMID 42825785
Written from 10 PubMed abstracts, each one listed by PMID above. Published: 2026-10-04. Drafted by language models from published abstracts; not medical advice.