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Anticonvulsant Agents: Phenytoin and Fosphenytoin

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NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy

Abstract

Phenytoin is the first AED to have been screened and identified by an animal model of epilepsy. It has been used since 1938 as a first-line AED for focal and generalized convulsive seizures. A prodrug, fosphenytoin, was more recently introduced as a better tolerated alternative to phenytoin for the treatment of status epilepticus. The clinical use of phenytoin has been limited by its saturable pharmacokinetics, drug-drug interactions, and adverse effects, including teratogenicity and chronic dysmorphic changes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Steven C. Schachter

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  1. Steven C. Schachter
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Correspondence to Steven C. Schachter .

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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Schachter, S.C. (2020). Anticonvulsant Agents: Phenytoin and Fosphenytoin. 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_303-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56015-1_303-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56015-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56015-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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