Despite the availability of newer agents, a number of antiepileptic drugs have continued to be employed reasonably widely, many years after their introduction to human therapeutics. These drugs comprise phenobarbitone and some of its congeners, phenytoin, ethosuximide, carbamazepine, valproate, and certain benzodiazepines. Details of their pharmacological profiles are outlined in the following account.
Keywords: benzodiazepines; carbamazepine; ethosuximide; mechanism of action; pharmacokinetics; phenobarbitone; phenytoin; valproate.