What is topiramate?
Topiramate is a prescription medication used to treat seizures. As an anticonvulsant medication, it can be used alone or in conjunction with other drugs to treat seizures that affect the whole body (known as tonic-clonic seizures, formerly grand mal seizures) and seizures that affect only one part of the brain (known as partial-onset seizures).
Seizures are sudden, uncontrolled disturbances in the brain that can cause a range of adverse effects, including muscle stiffness, twitching, or limpness, and abnormal sensations and states of awareness.
While often depicted in media by people suddenly collapsing or convulsing uncontrollably, seizures in actuality take on a variety of different forms that range from brief muscle loss to merely short episodes of confusion. Seizures are rarely life-threatening on their own accord; the loss of consciousness or muscle control that accompanies some seizures, though, can lead to serious injuries or death. Most seizures can be effectively treated with medications like topiramate.