Discontinuing Antiepileptic Drugs

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Abstract
When to stop administering a drug is at least as important a treatment decision as when to start. The issue is especially germane to the patient with epilepsy, because the chronic nature of the disorder often necessitates many years of treatment, and there is growing awareness of systemic and neurologic toxicity related to the long-term use of antiepileptic drugs. Until recently, however, many physicians have viewed the discontinuation of these drugs as hazardous, even in patients who had been free of seizures for many years, because of the paucity of reliable data on risk factors for seizure recurrence.The fundamental . . .