Some female gonadal and adrenal steroid hormones and their related pituitar
y peptides have neuroactive effects that can influence seizures. These effe
cts may play a significant role in the pathophysiology of epilepsy, the pat
tern of seizure occurrence, therapeutic interventions using naturally occur
ring hormones, and the development of hormone-based neuroactive synthetic a
nalogues with potent antiepileptic properties.