ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS | Pathways of Drug Diffusion into the Epileptic Brain

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) protects the brain from harmful substances present in the blood stream, while supplying the brain with the nutrients required for proper functioning. The BBB strictly regulates the penetration of drugs into the brain. Failure of such barrier is often associated with CNS pathologies, including epilepsy. Due to the presence of such complex, yet delicate mechanisms of protection, pharmacological targeting of CNS pathologies is challenging. Introduction of pharmaceutical agents for such ends requires new approaches to drug delivery to outwit vascular barriers. Even though numerous antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are now available, there have been no major improvements in the reduction of the total number of drug-resistant patients. This lack of progress underscores the nonspecificity of the refractory process itself, suggesting that rather general mechanisms may affect the efficacy of all available AEDs.