Psychotropic Effects of Anticonvulsant Drugs in Patients with Epilepsy

Anticonvulsant drugs continue to be the mainstay of epilepsy treatment but benefits of seizure control need to be balanced with the psychotropic potential of this class of compounds. The present paper is aimed at discussing positive and negative effects of anticonvulsant drugs on mood in patients with epilepsy. In general terms, the use in monotherapy, adopting slow titration schedules and low doses when possible, can significantly reduce the occurrence of treatment emergent adverse events. The mental state of the patient need to be taken into account in order to really optimize the anticonvulsant drug treatment.