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Anti-convulsant Agents: Ethosuximide and Methsuximide

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NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy

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Abstract

Ethosuximide and methsuximide, both members of the succinimide family, are applied as anticonvulsant drugs. Here we review their field of application in epilepsy treatment. Ethosuximide has been extensively used in the treatment of children and adolescents with absence seizures and is the optimal initial empiric monotherapy for this indication, together with valproic acid. When other first-line treatments fail, ethosuximide can be an add-on therapy for epilepsy with juvenile myoclonic seizures and myoclonic astatic seizures. Gastrointestinal and central nervous system side-effects are common, particularly at treatment initiation, while dose independent inhibition of hematopoiesis or severe rashes are rare. Methsuximide, less commonly used for treatment of complicated absence seizures in both children and adults, has a worse side-effect profile. In the following, we review their field of application in epilepsy treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatric Neurology, Center for Chronically Sick Children, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Maria Tountopoulou

  2. Department of Pediatric Neurology, Center for Chronically Sick Children and Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Angela M. Kaindl

Authors
  1. Maria Tountopoulou
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  2. Angela M. Kaindl
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angela M. Kaindl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept Psychiatry , Psychosomatics & Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Medical School Clinical Neurochemistry, Würzburg, Germany

    Peter Riederer

  2. Inst für Psychologische Medizin, Haag, Bayern, Germany

    Gerd Laux

  3. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Benoit Mulsant

  4. Center Translational Res Neurol Diseases, Dalian Med Uni Shanghai Inst Health Sc Center Translational Res Neurol Diseases, Dalian, China

    Weidong Le

  5. Fujita Health University School Medicine, Toyoake, Aichi, Japan

    Toshiharu Nagatsu

Section Editor information

  1. Beta Neurology – Competence Center for Epilepsy, Beta Klinik GmbH, Bonn, Germany

    Christian E. Elger

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Tountopoulou, M., Kaindl, A.M. (2020). Anti-convulsant Agents: Ethosuximide and Methsuximide. In: Riederer, P., Laux, G., Mulsant, B., Le, W., Nagatsu, T. (eds) NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56015-1_275-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56015-1_275-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56015-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56015-1

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