Seizure medications are prescribed for a variety of conditions, including:

• Epilepsy. Epilepsy involves experiencing recurrent (two or more) unprovoked seizures. These seizures occur when the neurons (nerve cells) in the brain become disturbed and suddenly increase their activity, causing an electrical storm that can overwhelm the brain. This can result in various symptoms, ranging from slight changes in taste, smell or behavior to a loss of consciousness and whole body convulsions. Seizure medications can control the parts of the brain that are causing the seizures.
  
  
• Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination. The condition can appear in infancy and early childhood but is most often present at birth. It is caused by abnormal brain activity, which may result in seizures. Although it cannot be cured, the seizures can be controlled with seizure medications.
  
  
• Muscular dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy refers to a group of diseases that cause muscles throughout the body to deteriorate. The diseases result from genetic mutations. Symptoms include muscle spasms, which occur as muscles break down and are reduced to fatty tissue. Muscle spasms in muscular dystrophy can sometimes be treated with seizure medications.
  
  
• Pain syndromes. Studies have shown that seizure medications can be useful for the control of certain types of nerve pain, particularly the shooting or stabbing pain associated with trigeminal neuralgia, peripheral neuropathy, migraines and cluster headaches. Although it is not completely understood exactly how seizure medications control nerve pain, it is thought that they may block pain signals from traveling to the brain. Because of the risk of adverse side effects, seizure medications are often used only as a last resort for people with uncontrollable nerve pain. It is important that people who are considering using seizure medications to control their nerve pain only do so under the supervision of a physician.
  
  
• Certain mental health conditions. Some seizure medications are used to treat mental health disorders such as bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depressive disorder), certain personality disorders and sleep disorders. It is not completely understood how seizure medications help to treat these conditions, although it is thought to be related to their ability to inhibit abnormal neuron activity in the brain.