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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="issn">1043-3155</journal-id>
<journal-id journal-id-type="nlm-ta">Pediatr Neurol Briefs</journal-id>
<journal-id journal-id-type="pmc">pedneurbriefs</journal-id>
<journal-id journal-id-type="iso-abbrev">Pediatr Neurol Briefs</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>Pediatric Neurology Briefs</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title>Pediatr Neurol Briefs</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">2166-6482</issn>
<issn pub-type="ppub">1043-3155</issn>
<issn-l>2166-3155</issn-l>
<publisher>
<publisher-name>Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Chicago, IL, USA</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="publisher-id">PNB-4-88</article-id>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.15844/pedneurbriefs-4-11-9</article-id>
<article-categories>
<subj-group subj-group-type="heading">
<subject>Seizure Disorders</subject>
</subj-group>
<subj-group subj-group-type="Discipline-v2">
<subject>Neurology</subject>
<subject>Pediatrics</subject>
<subject>Nervous System Diseases</subject>
<subject>Child Development</subject>
<subject>Brain Diseases</subject>
<subject>Neurosurgery</subject>
<subject>Child</subject>
<subject>Infant</subject>
</subj-group>
</article-categories>
<title-group>
<article-title>Generic Substitutions for Antiepileptic Drugs</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group>
<contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes">
<contrib-id contrib-id-type="orcid">http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931</contrib-id>
<name>
<surname>Millichap</surname>
<given-names>J. Gordon</given-names>
</name>
<degrees>MD</degrees>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="AF0001">1</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="AF0002">2</xref>
<xref ref-type="corresp" rid="cor1">&#x002A;</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group>
<aff id="AF0001">
<label>1</label>Division of Neurology, Children&#x0027;s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL</aff>
<aff id="AF0002">
<label>2</label>Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL</aff>
<author-notes>
<corresp id="cor1"><label>&#x002A;</label>Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: <email xlink:href="jgmillichap@northwestern.edu">jgmillichap@northwestern.edu</email>
</corresp>
</author-notes>
<pub-date date-type="pub" publication-format="print">
<month>11</month>
<year>1990</year>
</pub-date>
<pub-date date-type="pub" publication-format="electronic">
<day>01</day>
<month>08</month>
<year>2016</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>4</volume>
<issue>11</issue>
<fpage>88</fpage>
<lpage>88</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x00A9; 1990 The Author(s)</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>1990</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access" xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the <uri xlink:href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</uri>, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.</license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<related-article id="R1" related-article-type="commentary-article" ext-link-type="doi" xlink:href="10.1212/WNL.40.11.1641" vol="40" page="1641">
<article-title>Assessment: generic substitution for antiepileptic medication. Report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology</article-title>
</related-article>
<abstract abstract-type="web-summary" specific-use="electronic-only">
<p>The hazards and problems of generic substitutions for antiepileptic drugs are reviewed in a Report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology.</p>
</abstract>
<kwd-group>
<kwd>Antiepileptic Drugs</kwd>
<kwd>Steady-State Serum</kwd>
<kwd>Phenytoin and Carbamazepine</kwd>
</kwd-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
<body>
<p>The hazards and problems of generic substitutions for antiepileptic drugs are reviewed in a Report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="CIT0001">1</xref>] and are discussed by Nuwer MR et al [<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="CIT0002">2</xref>]. According to the present Federal guidelines for manufacturers a generic product may be approved as equivalent to a brand name product even if it produces widely varying bioavailability in some individuals. Implicit in the FDA guidelines is the assumption that a &#x00B1; 20% change in mean steady-state serum concentration of antiepileptic drugs can be tolerated safely. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this assertion. When substitution of different formulations of an antiepileptic drug occurs, the patient is put at risk of drug intoxication or breakthrough seizures. Generic substitution of drugs such as phenytoin and carbamazepine which have a narrow therapeutic range is especially problematic.</p>
<disp-quote>
<p><underline>COMMENT</underline>. Economic benefits because of lower cost of generic substitutions may be outweighed by the need for more frequent serum concentration determinations and costs of follow-up visits.</p>
</disp-quote>
</body>
<back>
<ref-list>
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<source>Neurology</source>
<year>1990</year>
<month>Nov</month>
<volume>40</volume>
<issue>11</issue>
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<article-title>Generic substitutions for antiepileptic drugs</article-title>
<source>Neurology</source>
<year>1990</year>
<month>Nov</month>
<volume>40</volume>
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</article>