EMERGING PERSPECTIVES ON THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF GABAPENTIN

Significant advances have been made in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying seizure disorders and the actions of a ntiepileptic drugs. Agents with new mechanisms of action or enhanced a ctivity via known mechanisms might provide improved seizure control or more selective therapy for specific epilepsies. Gabapentin is a new a ntiepileptic drug that is structurally similar to the neurotransmitter GABA and the endogenous amino acid L-leucine. The mechanism of action of gabapentin is not fully understood, but its distinct profile of an ticonvulsant activity in animal seizure models and its lack of activit y at many drug binding sites associated with other antiepileptic drugs indicate that its mechanism of action is novel.