A 9-year-old child is having learning difficulties at school. He has brief lapses of awareness with eyelid fluttering that occur
every 5–10 min. Electroencephalogram (EEG) studies reveal brief 3-Hz spike and wave discharges appearing synchronously in all leads. Which drug would be effective in this child without the disadvantages of excessive sedation or tolerance development?A. Clonazepam – CNS depressant effects B. Ethosuximide– Valproic acid can also be used for absence seizuresC. Gabapentin D. Felbamate E. Phenobarbital
B. ethosuximide-valproic acid can be used for absence seizures
Explanation:
The child is suffering from absence seizures and out of above mentioned drugs clonazepam and ethosuximide could be used for the treatment but, clonazepam has depressant effect on central nervous system. On the other hand ethosuximide has less adverse affects, not so sedating and tolerance also does not evolve against its anti-seizure activity. Other medication for this childhood epilepsy include valporic acid and lamotrigine other then ethosuximide, but all these medications have there own side effects with ethosuximide having the fewer.
