Epilepsy and cognitive impairment. How to choose an anticonvulsant drug?

Abstract

The article describes epilepsy as a chronic disease of the central nervous system with a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders, which include cognitive, affective and behavioral disorders. It is important to detect the presence of comorbid conditions in patients with epilepsy as early as possible to ensure early identification, diagnosis and proper monitoring of such co-morbidities. The most frequent manifestations of cognitive dysfunction in epilepsy include depression, impaired memory, attention, and bradyphrenia in the attack-free interval. Various factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of these disorders: organic brain damage, neuronal dysfunction, interictal epileptic activity, repeated seizures, and intake of certain anti-epileptic drugs. Various anti-epileptic drugs are considered from the point of view of influencing the cognitive functions, affective sphere and behavior of patients. Valproic acid preparations, which generally have a good cognitive profile, are presented in detail. A special attention is paid to Convulex, which has multi-dose presentations to provide further advantages in terms of dose flexibility.