Antiepileptic treatments have a rich history, beginning in the ancient times and increasing in the early 20th century through drug discovery using animal models. Epilepsy is a common disorder that affects 0.5% to 1% of the population and causes substantial disability. A recent estimate put the cost of epilepsy at more than $12 billion per year.¹ The impact of this disorder prompted substantial interest in developing new antiepileptic drugs, which began in earnest in the 1930s with the landmark publication by Merritt and Putnam on the effectiveness of phenytoin in an animal model of seizures. Carbamazepine was introduced in the 1960s and valproate in the 1970s, and these had been the primary medications used for several decades. Spurred by the work of the antiepileptic drug development branch of the National Institutes of Health, research in antiepileptic drug development surged in the 1980s and 1990s. As a result of this work, between 1993 and 2005, nine new drugs were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for use in epilepsy.

Work using carbamazepine, and later valproate, in psychiatric disorders and valproate in headache drove clinical trials to explore the effectiveness of antiepileptic drugs in a variety of nonepilepsy indications. With the surge of approvals for antiepileptic drug starting in the 1990s, interest grew in the use of these newer medications in a host of nonepilepsy indications. Over the last two decades, evidence has demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of antiepileptic drugs in many psychiatric disorders, pain syndromes, and headache.

The goal of this personal digital assistant (PDA) program and handbook is to guide the practitioner through this large body of data toward best practices. We have organized the program and text to optimize its use in the office or at the bedside. The book is organized according to the following categories.