Year: 2010 Source: Epilepsy Currents, v.10, no.6, (November/December 2010), p.137-145 SIEC No: 20110168

Recently 4 publications examined suicidality & antiepileptic drug use among several databases & illustrated how biases affect the findings. None of the studies was able to control completely for the indication for which the antiepileptic drugs were prescribed or to account for the varying intensities with which different specialists monitored patients for suicidality. Though multiple anlayses were conducted for many antiepileptic drugs, no study controlled for the numerous comparisons made. The result is a multitude of contradictions in the findings across studies & even within studies. This review attempts to clarify the methodological issues in assessing potential associations between antiepileptic drug use & suicidality. (33 refs.) JA