Chronic acetazolamide monotherapy in the treatment of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy.

We reviewed the charts of 84 patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) whom we had followed over the past 12 years, and identified 51 treated with acetazolamide (AZM) either because of a poor response to conventional antiepileptic drugs or to avoid valproate-associated adverse effects. Among the 51 we could isolate the effect of AZM on the generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) of JME in thirty-one. Chronic AZM monotherapy controlled GTCS in 14 of 31 patients. Most tolerated AZM very well; 5, however, developed renal calculi. Chronic AZM monotherapy controls GTCS in some patients with JME, but the development of renal calculi may limit its usefulness.