Clonazepam in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy: a clinical short and long term follow-up study.

One hundred sixty one epileptic patients, resistant to standard antiepileptic medication, were treatecd with clonazepam. In 19 cases clonazepam was given during the epileptic status. In 17 cases the status was stopped. In the remaining 142 patients clonazepam was given orally. The short term effect of the drug was analysed after 3 months of observation and the long term effect after a period of more than 1 year of observation. The authors compare the relationship between the clinical form of epilepsy, the EEG changes and the duration of disease with the long and short term therapeutic effect of clonazepam. The results obtained suggest: short term therapy is more successful than long term therapy, poor results or intolerance at the beginning of the treatment occur in about 20% of patients. The influence of clonazepam on epilepsy with focal seizures is relatively better than on generalized forms of epilepsy. "Old" cases of epilepsy are significantly more resistant to clonazepam medication. The same is true for diffuse brain damage.