Abstract
There have been some reports about the efficacy of the new antiepileptic drug, zonisamide, during recent several years. According to those reports, various types of refractory epileptic seizures respond to the administration of the new drug. However, they usually report only about short term administration of the drug.
Thirty-five patients including children who had been administered zonisamide for more than one year are reported.
Seven of them (20%) have been free from epileptic seizures for more than six months. On the other hand, eight of them (23%) showed only transient improvement, suggesting the development of tolerance to the drug. Most cases showed improvement from one week to several months after the administration. Because maximum effects appeared several years later in some patients, continuation of administration of the drug was considered to be important.The effective range of the plasma level of the drug was 4.1-46.3Junzou Shiraishi, g/ml and the effective dose was 2.4-17.5mg/kg.
All side effects were mild and transient.
Zonisamide is considered to be a safe antiepileptic drug with broad -spectrum of effects on refractory epilepsy.
