Assessing drug utilization and drug–drug interactions in the management of epilepsy, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and migraine.

The article focuses on a prospective study of central nervous system (CNS) drug utilization trends, drug–drug interactions (DDIs), and morbidity patterns among neurological disorder (ND) patients at a multispecialty hospital in Gujarat, India. Among 280 neurology outpatients, epilepsy (31.07%) and migraine (30.35%) were the most common diagnoses, with sodium valproate frequently prescribed for epilepsy, donepezil for Alzheimer's and dementia, and levodopa–carbidopa for Parkinsonism. The study found that 95.83% of prescribed drugs aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) essential drug list and that 16.77% of prescriptions had potential DDIs, primarily pharmacokinetic in nature. These findings highlight prescribing patterns consistent with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and underscore the importance of monitoring DDIs in polytherapy for neurological conditions.