Zota Pharmaceuticals Private Limited

Modern treatment of seizures started in 1850 with the introduction of bromides, which was based on the theory that epilepsy was caused by an excessive drive. In 1910, phenobarbital (PHB), which then was used to induce sleep, was found to have antiseizure activity and became the drug of choice for many years. A number of medications similar to PHB were developed, including primidone.

In 1938, Houston Merrit and Tracy Putnam described animal models for screening multiple compounds for antiepileptic activity in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In 1940, phenytoin (PHT) was found to be an effective drug for the treatment of epilepsy, and since then it has become a major first-line antiepileptic drug (AED) in the treatment of partial and secondarily generalized seizures.

In 1968, carbamazepine (CBZ) was approved, initially for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia; later, in 1974, it was approved for partial seizures. Ethosuximide has been used since 1958 as a first-choice drug for the treatment of absence seizures without generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Valproate (VPA) was licensed in Europe in 1960 and in the United States in 1978, and now is widely available throughout the world. It became the drug of choice in primary generalized epilepsies and in the mid 1990s was approved for treatment of partial seizures.

These anticonvulsants were the mainstays of seizure treatment until the 1990s, when newer AEDs with good efficacy, fewer toxic effects, better tolerability, and no need for blood level monitoring were developed. A study of live-born infants in Denmark found that exposure to the newer-generation AEDs lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, topiramate, gabapentin, and levetiracetam in the first trimester was not associated with an increased risk in major birth defects.

Levetiracetam is an anti-epileptic drug, also called an anticonvulsant. Levetiracetam is used to treat partial onset seizures in adults and children who are at least 1 month old. The Spritam brand of this medicine is not for use in children younger than 4 years old or children who weigh less than 44 pounds. Levetiracetam is also used to treat tonic-clonic seizures in adults and children who are at least 6 years old, and myoclonic seizures in adults and children who are at least 12 years old.

Propranolol is a beta-blocker. Beta-blockers affect the heart and circulation (blood flow through arteries and veins). Propranolol is used to treat tremors, angina (chest pain), hypertension (high blood pressure), heart rhythm disorders, and other heart or circulatory conditions. It is also used to treat or prevent heart attack, and to reduce the severity and frequency of migraine headaches.

Gabapentin is an anti-epileptic drug, also called an anticonvulsant. It affects chemicals and nerves in the body that are involved in the cause of seizures and some types of pain. Gabapentin is used in adults to treat neuropathic pain (nerve pain) caused by herpes virus or shingles (herpes zoster). Gabapentin is also used to treat restless legs syndrome (RLS).