A third of patients diagnosed with epilepsy do not become seizure-free despite treatment trials with two different antiseizure medication (ASM) [1]. However, uncontrolled epilepsy is distinct from drug-resistant epilepsy [2]. The criteria for drug-resistant epilepsy are met when a patient does not become seizure-free despite treatment with two properly selected ASMs given for sufficient time and in sufficient doses [3]. The primary issue with this definition is that a significant proportion of patients formally fulfill the criteria for a diagnosis of drug-resistant epilepsy but the reason for the failure to control the epilepsy is not necessarily the epilepsy itself.
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