Besides childhood absence epilepsy, Zarontin has shown itself to be effective against atypical absence seizures and absence status (at high levels). It is also a useful adjunctive medication for patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

It also has shown efficacy in controlling negative myoclonus, a rare type of partial seizures seen in some epilepsy syndromes in children. Unlike the more common brisk jerks of positive myoclonus, negative myoclonus involves a brief loss of postural tone. This loss occurs at the same time as spike-and-wave complexes in the contralateral cerebral hemisphere.

Reviewed February 2004 by Barry Gidal, PharmD, epilepsy.com Editorial Board.