PROGRESS REPORT ON NEW ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS - A SUMMARY OF THE 3RD EILAT CONFERENCE

The Third Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs was held at the Royal Beach Hotel from May 27 to May 30, 1996. Epileptologists and sci entists from 20 countries attended the conference, which was held to d iscuss critical issues in drug development, new antiepileptic drugs (A EDs) in development, progress reports and recent findings of newly mar keted AEDs, the use of AEDs in special populations and their utilizati on in non-epileptic disorders. Over the last seven years, six new AEDs have been introduced worldwide and new information on their safety an d efficacy has become available. These include felbamate, gabapentin, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, topiramate and vigabatrin. Drugs in develo pment include those at an advanced stage, such as remacemide and tiaga bine, as well as those just entering clinical trials, such as rufinami de (CGP 331010) and levetiracetam (ucb LO59). The following is a summa ry of the presentations for drugs in development and recent findings o n newly marketed drugs.