Inflammation as Treatment Target for Status Epilepticus

Abstract

Background: Status epilepticus (SE) is a serious neurological disease that manifests as prolonged seizures that last more than 5 minutes and between such episodes, patients do not regain consciousness. It can result in cognitive defects, brain damage, or even death. It is commonly known that one of the causes can be an inflammatory process, but here we will focus on inflammation as a result of new onset refractory status epilepticus and, related to this, new promising forms of SE treatment. Particular emphasis has been focused on new-onset refractory status epilepticus (NORSE). Methods: Based on public research databases, drugs with anti-inflammatory activity – commonly used in different spheres of medicine – have been reviewed as potentially treating status epilepticus. Results: There is seizable clinical research suggesting that drugs that decrease inflammatory processes might be effective in terminating status epilepticus. Conclusion: There is growing evidence showing that adding anti-inflammatory drugs to basic antiepileptic treatment enhances the efficiency of the therapeutic process, with special potential in NORSE cases.