Abstract
Although more than ten new antiepileptic drugs have been developed in the past decade, epilepsy remains resistant to drug therapy in about one-third of patients. Approximately 20 % of patients with primary generalized epilepsy and up to 60 % of patients who have focal epilepsy develop drug resistance during the course of their condition, which for many is lifelong. Managing these patients is a challenge and requires a structured multidisciplinary approach. The present chapter is a general overview of epilepsy as stigma, health and economical problem, and initiatives to change and the conditions of people with epilepsy. Special emphasis is focused to highlight the consequences of pharmacoresistant epilepsy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Annegers JF, Beghi E, Begley CE. Cost of epilepsy: contrast of methodologies in United States and European studies. Epilepsia. 1999;40 Suppl 8:14–8.
Arroyo S, Brodie MJ, Avanzini G, Baumgartner C, Chiron C, Dulac O, et al. Is refractory epilepsy preventable? Epilepsia. 2002;43:437–44.
Begley CE, Beghi E. The economic cost of epilepsy: a review of the literature. Epilepsia. 2002;43 Suppl 4:3–9.
Berg AT. Identification of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Neurol Clin. 2009;27:1003–13.
Bowis J. “Out of the shadows”: the political view. Epilepsia. 2002;43 Suppl 6:16–7.
Browne TR, Holmes GL. Epilepsy. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:1145–51.
Burneo JG, Tellez-Zenteno J, Wiebe S. Understanding the burden of epilepsy in Latin America: a systematic review of its prevalence and incidence. Epilepsy Res. 2005;66:63–74.
Carpio A, Hauser WA. Epilepsy in the developing world. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2009;9:319–26.
de Graaf AS. Epidemiological aspects of epilepsy in northern Norway. Epilepsia. 1974;15:291–9.
Ellerkmann RK, Remy S, Chen J, Sochivko D, Elger CE, Urban BW, et al. Molecular and functional changes in voltage-dependent Na + channels following pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in rat dentate granule cells. Neuroscience. 2003;119:323–33.
Engel JJ, Taylor DC. Neurobiology of behavioral disorders. In: Engel Jr J, Pedley TA, editors. Epilepsy: a comprehensive textbook. Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven; 1997. p. 2045–52.
García-Contreras F, Constantino-Casas P, Castro-Ríos A, Nevárez-Sida A, Estrada Correa Gdel C, Carlos Rivera F, et al. Direct medical costs for partial refractory epilepsy in Mexico. Arch Med Res. 2006;37:376–83.
Haerer AF, Anderson DW, Schoenberg BS. Prevalence and clinical features of epilepsy in a biracial United States population. Epilepsia. 1986;27:66–75.
Jennum P, Gyllenborg J, Kjellberg J. The social and economic consequences of epilepsy: a controlled national study. Epilepsia. 2011;52:949–56.
Kasantikul V, Brown WJ, Oldendorf WH, Crandall PC. Ultrastructural parameters of limbic microvasculature in human psychomotor epilepsy. Clin Neuropathol. 1983;2:171–8.
Keränen T, Riekkinen PJ, Sillanpää M. Incidence and prevalence of epilepsy in adults in eastern Finland. Epilepsia. 1989;30:413–21.
Kurland LT. The incidence and prevalence of convulsive disorders in a small urban community. Epilepsia. 1959;1:143–61.
Kwan P, Brodie M. Refractory epilepsy: a progressive, intractable but preventable condition? Seizure. 2002;11:77–84.
Lamas M, González-Mariscal L, Gutiérrez R. Presence of claudins mRNA in the brain. Selective modulation of expression by kindling epilepsy. Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 2002;104:250–4.
Langfitt JT, Holloway RG, McDermott MP, Messing S, Sarosky K, Berg AT, et al. Health care costs decline after successful epilepsy surgery. Neurology. 2007;68:1290–8.
Lee P. Epilepsy in the world today: the social point of view. Epilepsia. 2002;43 Suppl 6:14–5.
Leonardi M, Ustun TB. The global burden of epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2002;43 Suppl 6:21–5.
Luna-Munguia H, Orozco-Suarez S, Rocha L. Effects of high frequency electrical stimulation and R-verapamil on seizure susceptibility and glutamate and GABA release in a model of phenytoin-resistant seizures. Neuropharmacology. 2011;61:807–14.
Olafsson E, Hauser WA, Ludvigsson P, Gudmundsson G. Incidence of epilepsy in rural Iceland: a population-based study. Epilepsia. 1996;37:951–5.
Platt M, Sperling MR. A comparison of surgical and medical costs for refractory epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2002;43:25–31.
Regesta G, Tanganelli P. Clinical aspects and biological bases of drug resistant epilepsies. Epilepsy Res. 1999;34:109–22.
Remy S, Gabriel S, Urban BW, Dietrich D, Lehmann TN, Elger CE, et al. A novel mechanism underlying drug resistance in chronic epilepsy. Ann Neurol. 2003;53:469–79.
Reynolds EH. Introduction: epilepsy in the world. Epilepsia. 2002;43 Suppl 6:1–3.
Rogawski MA, Johnson MR. Intrinsic severity as a determinant of antiepileptic drug refractoriness. Epilepsy Curr. 2008;8:127–30.
Semah F, Picot MC, Adam C, Broglin D, Arzimanoglou A, Bazin B, et al. Is the underlying cause of epilepsy a major prognosis factor for recurrence? Neurology. 1998;51:1256–62.
Sisodiya SM, Lin WR, Harding BN, Squier MV, Thom M. Drug resistance in epilepsy: expression of drug resistance proteins in common causes of refractory epilepsy. Brain. 2002;125:22–31.
Vreugdenhil M, Wadman WJ. Kindling-induced long-lasting enhancement of calcium current in hippocampal CA1 area of the rat: relation to calcium-dependent inactivation. Neuroscience. 1994;59:105–14.
Vreugdenhil M, Wadman WJ. Modulation of sodium currents in rat CA1 neurons by carbamazepine and valproate after kindling epileptogenesis. Epilepsia. 1999;40:1512–22.
Wiebe S, Blume WT, Girvin JP, Eliasziw M. A randomized controlled trial of surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy. N Engl J Med. 2001;345:311–8.
World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2001: mental health, new understanding new hope. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2001.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rubio-Donnadieu, F. (2013). Pharmacoresistance and Epilepsy. In: Rocha, L., Cavalheiro, E. (eds) Pharmacoresistance in Epilepsy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6464-8_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6464-8_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6463-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6464-8
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)