Medications There are about 50 different medications used to treat epilepsy. Often, people whose seizures are not controlled by one drug will find relief from another. Still, in about one-third of patients, medications will not be effective, and all the drugs have side effects. One promising new drug, Ezogabine, attempts to control seizures by working in a different way than previous drugs: operating on the potassium “gates” that control brain cell excitation.

Diet Some epilepsy patients are able to control their seizures by eating a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. This can be very effective, but is difficult to follow, and the long-term effects on overall health are unclear.