Medical and medico-social case management of drug-resistant partial epilepsy. Specific implementation of long-term antiepileptic treatment in the adult

Medical treatment of refractory localisation-related epilepsies in adults should always be considered with regard to surgical possibilities. When long-term therapy with antiepileptic drugs is necessary, the treatment tries to achieve maximal efficacy with the lowest unavoidable toxicity. Until an evidence-based choice can be made, the management is currently based on empirical knowledge. In this article, the available literature on effectiveness and monitoring of long term antiepileptic therapy is reviewed.