ABSTRACT
The first and most important aspect of treatment is to establish a correct diagnosis of epilepsy and the epilepsy syndrome or seizure type and to always consider a possible underlying cause; the second step is to decide that treatment with antiepileptic drugs is necessary; and the third is to decide which drug should be used. The choice of drug depends on the specific epilepsy syndrome or, if no syndrome has been identified, on the type of seizure or seizures experienced by the patient. Where there are two or three possible ‘first-choice’ drugs, the potential sideeffects and formulation of the drug can be used to decide which might be the most suitable. In the future, the cause of the epilepsy or the identification of any specific drug-resistant genes in an individual
patient may become the most important factor in helping to determine the choice of drug.
