Therapy of status epilepticus in adults and children

Clinical studies of the treatment of status epilepticus are extremely diffi cult to carry out, therefore a paucity of new clinical studies have been re ported. Much of the progress regarding the therapy of status epilepticus ha s come from a better understanding of the epidemiology of status epilepticu s and its consequences and from laboratory studies of experimental status. Status epilepticus has been used as an experimental tool to study epileptog enesis, but from such studies have come insights that can be applied to the therapy of status epilepticus itself, This review will focus on informatio n from epidemiological, experimental, and clinical studies of status epilep ticus, which may contribute to the improved treatment of this life-threaten ing disorder. Curr Opin Neurol 14:203-210. (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & W ilkins.