title: Do traditional anti-seizure drugs have a future? A review of potential anti-seizure drugs in clinical development.
abstract: Currently information is available for 20 potential anti-seizure drugs in clinical development. They include candidates with mechanisms of action similar to those of marketed AEDs (allopregnanolone, brivaracetam, ganaxolone, ICA-105665, NS1209, selurampanel); those with new mechanisms of action (beprodon, VX-765); compounds repurposed for the treatment of epilepsy (biperiden, bumetanide, fenfluramine, melatonin, nalutozan, pitolisant, quinidine, valnoctamide, verapamil); and finally candidates with currently unknown mechanisms of action (JNJ-26489112, UCB0942, YKP3089 (Cenobamate). Clinical development of anti-seizure drugs is still active but unexciting. Potential anti-seizure drugs continue to be largely identified by their activity against seizures provoked by electrical or chemical procedures in animals with normal brains. As in the past, this may lead to new drugs whose efficacy is not better than that of those already on the market.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Neurology, Department of Medicine, Florence Health Authority, Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: gaetano.zaccara@uslcentro.toscana.it.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zaccara
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Research Group Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004339:Drug Compounding; D058492:Drug Repositioning; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants
keywords: Allopregnanolone; Allopregnanolone (PubChem CID: 16219900); Antiepileptic drugs; Biperiden (PubChem CID: 2381); Brivaracetam; Brivaracetam (PubChem CID: 9837243); Bumetanide (PubChem CID: 2461); Cenobamate (PubChem CID: 11962412); Clinical trials; Drug development; Epilepsy; Fenfluramine (PubChem CID: 3337); Ganaxolone; Ganaxolone (PubChem CID: 6918305); Pitolisant (PubChem CID: 9948102); Selurampanel (PubChem CID: 45381907); VX-765 (PubChem CID: 53245642)