Anticonvulsants are drugs that are used to treat and prevent cerebral seizures, uncontrolled convulsions that are triggered by discharges in the brain. They are also referred to as tonic-clonic seizures, which are accompanied by clouding of consciousness.
What are anticonvulsants?
Anticonvulsants are used to inhibit impulses in the CNS to prevent incipient seizures. Anticonvulsants are drugs used to treat and prevent cerebral seizures. Cerebral seizures are also known as epileptic seizures. Therefore, anticonvulsants can also be called antiepileptic drugs. They belong to a specific group of drugs, which is chemically heterogeneous. They include about 5 long-standing and proven representatives, all of which are administered with the same goal. Each different anticonvulsant has its specific action. Different seizure disorders require treatment with equally different anticonvulsants.
Medical application, effect, and use
Preventing and suppressing seizures that are imminent and controlled from the brain, or interrupting seizures that are already present, since prolonged seizures are always associated with a health risk, including the risk of death from suffocation. Regardless of which type of anticonvulsant is used, it has the task of inhibiting neuronal excitability and the transmission of impulses in the CNS, thereby preventing an incipient seizure altogether or terminating one that has already occurred. Depending on whether it is a preventive or acute medication, there are different forms of application of the drug. The desired effect is achieved by various mechanisms: on the one hand, voltage-dependent Ca+ channels and Na+ channels are blocked. Furthermore, GABA-mediated inhibitory mechanisms are enhanced. Which mechanism of action is used in the application of the drug depends mainly on the form of the seizure disorder. If the treatment does not show the desired effect, the patient is switched to another anticonvulsant. Pure epileptic seizures should be treated with monotherapy to avoid lowering the seizure threshold by the interaction of multiple drugs.
Herbal, natural, and pharmaceutical anticonvulsants.
There are several forms and types of anticonvulsants, all of which are used to prevent or terminate cerebral seizures. In acute therapy and in cases of severe seizure tendency, only chemical agents are used. These include barbiturates such as phenobarbital and primidone. Also suximides and hydantoin derivatives such as phenytoin, tricyclic antidepressants such as carbamazepine, valproic acid and benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Tavor) and clonazepam. In homeopathy, epilepsy is basically considered a chronic condition. The treatment here is usually carried out in combination with an already initiated conventional medical treatment. The aim here is to activate the body’s own anticonvulsants and regenerate the body. Purely herbal substances approved for the mono-treatment of seizure disorders have not yet been properly researched and are therefore not approved due to the very high health risk. Self-treatment with belladonna, etc., is strongly discouraged. Epileptic seizures should be medically clarified, especially when they occur for the first time, because there are many different causes. A generalized seizure disorder is not always behind it. Possibly an injury to the brain or an infection also leads to seizures, which then do not require permanent therapy.
Risks and side effects
Anticonvulsants, in addition to their desired and necessary effects, also have risks and side effects, like all substances that actively intervene in processes in the human body. These should not be underestimated under any circumstances. Pregnant women, the elderly, children and dependent people are particularly at risk and must be consistently monitored during treatment with anticonvulsants. Most drugs in this group make one very drowsy, which prohibits one from operating machinery and actively participating in traffic. Some also cause memory lapses (retrograde amnesia) and speech disorders (ataxia). Benzodiazepines in particular cause extreme muscle relaxation, which can lead to falls.Under no circumstances should anticonvulsants be consumed together with alcohol, as the effects can be mutually undesirably intensified. This also applies to the simultaneous or delayed use of other drugs, especially if they also act on the central nervous system. An amplification of the effect can lead to life-threatening respiratory depression. Children are particularly at risk. Another, but rare, side effect may be so-called paradoxical effects, generally manifested by increased restlessness.
