Efficacy of clonazepam
Clonazepam is an effective medication but its side effects and problems with tolerance and withdrawal have kept it from being more widely used. Instead, it is usually used as an add-on medication for patients whose seizures do not completely respond to other seizure medicines.
Despite clonazepam becoming available in the United States in 1975, there have been few large, well-controlled studies of its effectiveness. It is generally used to treat absence seizures, often in combination with Depakote (valproate), and myoclonic seizures in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and progressive myoclonic epilepsy, typically in combination with Depakote. Clonazepam may also be useful for patients with photic-induced seizures.
Children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome may benefit from its use, though not all studies have found it helpful for long-term treatment.
Reviewed by Steven C. Schachter M.D., April 2005
