Suicide Risk and Antiepileptic Drugs

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it will require warnings about suicidal risks to be added to the prescribing labels of all antiepileptic drugs. The FDA based its decision on clinical trials that showed that patients who took antiepileptic drugs had twice the risk of suicidal behavior or thoughts compared to patients who received placebo. The FDA recommends that patients who receive these drugs should be closely observed for signs of suicidality.

Antiepileptic drugs include:

• Carbamazepine (Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol)
• Valproate (Depakene)
• Divalproex sodium (Depakote)
• Ethosuximide (Zarontin)
• Clonazepam (Klonopin)
• Lamotrigine (Lamictal)
• Gabapentin (Neurontin)
• Pregabalin (Lyrica)
• Topiramate (Topamax)
• Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal)
• Zonisamide (Zonegran)
• Levetiracetam (Keppra)
• Tiagabine(Gabitril)

Febrile Seizures and Epilepsy

Febrile seizures are caused by high fever and are common in young children. This type of seizure usually has no long-term effects. Although children who have simple febrile seizures have a slightly higher risk of developing epilepsy than children who do not have febrile seizures, the overall risk is still low. According to 2008 guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is no evidence that preventive treatment of simple febrile seizures reduces the risk of epilepsy. Furthermore, due to the low risks of febrile seizures compared to the risks of anticonvulsant drugs, the AAP does not recommend anticonvulsant drug therapy to prevent febrile seizure recurrence.