Antiepileptic Drugs and the Regulation of Mood and Quality of Life (QOL): The Evidence from Epilepsy

Summary:  We review the literature on the influence of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on mood and quality of life in patients with epilepsy. Although many anecdotal reports cover a spectrum of AEDs, most of the controlled data have come from studies of carbamazepine and lamotrigine. Both of these compounds appear to have positive effects on mood, and these data parallel the effects noted in nonepilepsy populations. AEDs that are γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic tend to have negative effects on mood, and an affective disorder is often noted as a treatment-emergent effect. It is speculated that the amygdala is an important anatomic structure in the cerebral circuits that regulate mood in affective disorders but also in epilepsy, and an effect of AEDs on such circuits aids mood stability in both populations of patients.