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Anti-convulsant agents: Cortisone and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH)

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NeuroPsychopharmacotherapy

Abstract

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticoids represent the first-line treatment of the infantile spasms-West syndrome. The exact cellular and network mechanisms behind the anti-epileptic effect of ACTH and corticoids are not known. In the brain, these substances display multiple effects ranging from controlling inflammation, brain maturation, and cellular proliferation to the modulation of several neurotransmitter systems. ACTH and corticoids display multiple systemic effects on the body mainly on glucose metabolism and immune system. Therefore, their administration is associated with increased risk of severe side effects. ACTH and steroids display nearly identical efficacy in controlling infantile spasms. The popularity of corticoids in the treatment of infantile spasms is increasing due to their advantages which include oral route of administration, lower risk of side effects, and low cost. Apart from infantile spasms, corticoids are also used in the treatment of other epileptic syndromes in childhood including Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Landau-Kleffner syndrome, or electrical status epilepticus in sleep syndrome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental Epileptology, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

    Hana Kubova & Premysl Jiruska

  2. Department of Physiology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Premysl Jiruska

  3. Department of Paediatric Neurology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic

    Vladimir Komarek

Authors
  1. Hana Kubova
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  2. Premysl Jiruska
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  3. Vladimir Komarek
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vladimir Komarek .

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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Kubova, H., Jiruska, P., Komarek, V. (2020). Anti-convulsant agents: Cortisone and Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH). 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_305-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56015-1_305-1

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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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