The ideal characteristics of antiepileptic therapy: an overview of old and new AEDs.

New and improved anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) have made the concept of choice, according to the individual prognosis and probable response to specific regimens, increasingly feasible. Inter-individual variability in syndrome severity and complexity make individualization necessary. We propose three categories of disorder control according to the individual objectives of the patient: (1) seizure control, (2) epilepsy control and ultimately, (3) 'epilepsy cure'; the latter remaining a largely idealistic target today. An AED is likely to be successful if it exhibits 'optimal' characteristics, such as drug efficacy, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, interactions and cost-effectiveness. This review discusses the 'optimal' characteristics of add-on AEDs, which, in addition to seizure control, will contribute to the achievement of epilepsy control and therefore address the currently unmet clinical needs of epilepsy treatment.