Anticonvulsants calm excessive electrical activity in the brain. Beyond epilepsy, several have become mainstays in quite different conditions: pregabalin and gabapentin for nerve pain, lamotrigine as a mood stabiliser in bipolar disorder. They work through different mechanisms — some on sodium channels, some on calcium channels, some on synaptic vesicle proteins — which is why one can work when another has not.
Class descriptions are written by the Priya Life Science editorial team. Individual drug pages combine that summary with live label, approval, manufacturer and shortage data from the U.S. FDA via the openFDA API. This page is general information and is not medical advice — it is not exhaustive, drugs within a class are not automatically interchangeable, and approvals and brand names differ between the US, EU/Ireland (EMA/HPRA) and other regions. Always consult the official prescribing information and your clinician or pharmacist. Related: Drug Shortages Tracker · FDA Approvals · All drug comparisons