The Influence Of Anti-epileptic Drugs On Cortical Excitability In Patients With Epilepsy

Purpose:Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to investigate motor cortical excitability changes in drug-naive new-onset epilepsy patients and to find a reliable marker for the early efficacy of the AEDS.Methods:A single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was used for recording the rest motor threshold (MT) in40patients with epilepsy before and after taking AEDS for2-3months.MT was compared in different groups.Results:The MT was significantly increased in40patients following2-3months AEDS treatment. The right MT increase to57.2±9.0from52.5±9.3, the left MT increase to55.2±7.2from49.8±8.4. In group of OXC monotherapy, the right MT increase to58.1±8.7from52.9±8.4, the left MT increase to55.7±8.0from50.6±8.4. There was statistically significant difference in OXC group following2-3months AEDS treatment.There was statistically significant difference in total efficiency group. And there was no statistically significant difference in inefficiency group. Conclusion:AEDS have a significantly antiepileptic effect on patients and reduced the membrane excitability of human motor cortical neurons. A physiologically well-defined single TMS measure of cortical excitability may be used as a biological marker of acute drug effects at the systems level of the cerebral cortex.