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At Baptist Neurology Group, our physicians rely on a growing list of sophisticated medications as part of an overall approach to treating our patients. Depending on the patient's condition, medication might be used on a short- or long-term basis for a variety of purposes.
Among them:
Just as each patient is different, each medication has different properties that can vary from one patient to another. It may be necessary to try similar drugs or various dosing options before arriving at the combination that provides the best results. With persistence, we can find what works best for each patient.
Medications come in a wide range of classifications. The types of neurological conditions listed below provide a framework for understanding many of the medication options available.
Vascular disorders affect the blood vessels (arteries and veins) of the circulatory system. For neurologists, the most significant kind of vascular disease is stroke, which occurs when blood supply to the brain is interrupted.
Emergency treatment: Neurologists use a variety of medications to treat patients with stroke. Initially, when the patient first arrives in the Emergency Room, medications can help restore blood flow to the brain and prevent further damage in a number of ways.
Ongoing treatment: Once the patient is stable and out of immediate danger, more long-range treatment can begin. The Stroke Centers at Baptist Health is designed to help stroke patients recover as fully as possible. Ongoing treatment for stroke patients might include medications such as:
Movement disorders affect the ability of the brain and spinal cord to control muscle movement throughout the body. Some may cause involuntary movements and others may make it difficult to initiate or control voluntary movement.
While there are many examples (including Ataxia, Distonia, Essential Tremor, Huntington's disease and Tourette's syndrome), Parkinson's disease is one of the movement disorders of great interest to neurologists. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative, progressive brain disorder that causes a loss of muscle control due to a lack of dopamine in the brain.
Neurologists treat patients with Parkinson's disease with several kinds of medications. Many of these can mimic the benefits of dopamine, the natural chemical that the patient's brain can no longer produce. Some of the medications available to treat Parkinson's disease include:
Degenerative nerve disorders are marked by progressive deterioration of nerve cells throughout the body. Some examples include Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gherig's disease), Parkinson's disease, Lewy Body disease, Huntington's disease and others.
One of the most widely known degenerative nerve disorders is Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible form of dementia. Treatment for patients with Alzheimer's disease involves a variety of options, including a broad range of medications. These include:
Functional disorders disrupt the body's ability to perform one or more of its normal functions. In a neurological sense, functional disorders refer to disruptions in the normal functioning of the brain. Many conditions can affect brain functioning. Of these, Epilepsy is a major type. Epilepsy is one of many causes of seizures, which are characterized by unprovoked surges in electrical energy in the brain.
Treating Epilepsy spans a wide rage of options, including surgery and other choices. But the primary treatment option for patients with Epilepsy is anticonvulsant drug therapy. This classification of medication prevents seizures from occurring or reduces their severity and frequency. There are many drug choices available.
Some drugs are used for specific types of seizures, others are used more generally. Each has its own list of side effects. Because most side effects are dosage-related, it may be necessary to adjust the dosage and frequency of any new drug until side effects are minimized without sacrificing effectiveness.
Some of the most common drugs used to control Epileptic and other types of seizures include:
| Generic Name | Brand Name |
| clonazepam | Klonopin |
| clorazepate | Tranxene |
| ethosuximide | Zarontin |
| carbamazepine | Tegretol |
| felbamate | Felbatol |
| fosphenytoin | Cerebyx |
| gabapentin | Neurontin |
| lacosamide | Vimpat |
| lamotrigine | Lamictal |
| levetiracetam | Keppra |
| oxcarbazepine | Trileptal |
| phenobarbital | Luminal |
| phenytoin | Dilantin |
| pregabalin | Lyrica |
| primidone | Mysoline |
| tiagabine | Gabitril |
| topiramate | Topamax |
| valproate semisodium | Depakote |
| valproic acid | Depakene |
| zonisamide | Zonegran |
Clinical Trials
Powerful new medications are constantly in development for a wide range of neurological and other medical conditions. As integral members of the Baptist Health system, we are plugged into a wide professional network for clinical trials of these promising new medications.
As a result, we are often able to offer this important alternative to patients whose conditions do not respond to existing available drugs. If you've been diagnosed with a neurological disorder and you and your neurologist are not satisfied with the results of your current drug regimen, contact us at 904.398-5405 to see if you qualify for participation in a clinical drug trial.