Medicinal Chemistry, 2nd Edition

Chapter 8

Anti-Epileptic Drugs

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Define epilepsy and the causes of the disorder

• Categorize various forms of the disorder

• Categorize the anticonvulsant drugs based on the chemical class

• Learn the basic structural composition for a molecule to act as anticonvulsants

• Define pharmacophore model and how it can be derived

• Categorize anticonvulsants on the basis of treatment of different seizure types

• Define GABA and the importance of developing its analogues

• Describe some newer anticonvulsants

8.1 INTRODUCTION: EPILEPSY AND TYPES OF SEIZURES

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which clusters of nerve cells, or neurons, in the brain sometimes signal abnormally. In epilepsy, the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, ...