Drug Interactions with the Newer Antiepileptic Drugs (AEDs)—Part 1: Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Interactions Between AEDs

Since 1989 there has been an exponential introduction of new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) into clinical practice and these include eslicarbazepine acetate, felbamate, gabapentin, lacosamide, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, oxcarbazepine, perampanel, pregabalin, retigabine (ezogabine), rufinamide, stiripentol, tiagabine, topiramate, vigabatrin and zonisamide; 16 in total. Because often the treatment of epilepsy is lifelong, and because patients are commonly prescribed polytherapy with other AEDs, AED interactions are an important consideration in the treatment of epilepsy and indeed can be a major therapeutic challenge. For new AEDs, their propensity to interact is particularly important because inevitably they can only be prescribed, at least in the first instance, as adjunctive polytherapy. The present review details the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions that have been reported to occur with the new AEDs. Interaction study details are described, as necessary, so as to allow the reader to take a view as to the possible clinical significance of particular interactions. The principal pharmacokinetic interaction relates to hepatic enzyme induction or inhibition whilst pharmacodynamic interactions principally entail adverse effect synergism, although examples of anticonvulsant synergism also exist. Overall, the new AEDs are less interacting primarily because many are renally excreted or not hepatically metabolised (e.g. gabapentin, lacosamide, levetiracetam, topiramate, vigabatrin) and most do not (or minimally) induce or inhibit hepatic metabolism. A total of 139 pharmacokinetic interactions between concurrent AEDs have been described. The least pharmacokinetic interactions (n ≤ 5) are associated with gabapentin, lacosamide, tiagabine, vigabatrin and zonisamide, whilst lamotrigine (n = 17), felbamate (n = 15), oxcarbazepine (n = 14) and rufinamide (n = 13) are associated with the most. To date, felbamate, gabapentin, oxcarbazepine, perampanel, pregabalin, retigabine, rufinamide, stiripentol and zonisamide have not been associated with any pharmacodynamic interactions.