[Medical Treatment of Epilepsy].

Medical treatment is the primary therapy option for patients with epilepsy. Recently, the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) proposed that the current medications used to treat epilepsy should be referred to as 'antiseizure medications' (ASMs) due to the symptomatic effect exerted against seizures. The present article reviews the recent clinical practice guidelines (Clinical Practice Guidelines for Epilepsy 2018, in Japan, and the NICE guideline, published in April 2022) and expert opinions (USA, South Korea, and Spain) based on which the selection of ASMs has been discussed. The classification of seizure types and epilepsies should be examined before selecting the ASMs for each patient with epilepsy. For focal epilepsy, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, and lacosamide would be the first-line ASM, whereas, for generalized epilepsy, valproic acid, lamotrigine, and levetiracetam would be the first-line ASM. However, valproic acid is not to be prescribed to women of childbearing potential.