Lacosamide (LCM)

Lacosamide is a functionalized amino acid that has activity in the maximal electroshock seizure test, like antiepileptic drugs that are believed to act through Voltage gated sodium channels undergo slow inactivation. This inactivation prevents the channel from opening, and helps end the action potential. Many antiepileptic drugs, like carbamazepine or lamotrigine, slow the recovery from inactivation and hence reduce the ability of neurons to fire action potentials. Inactivation only occurs in neurons firing action potentials; this means that drugs that modulate fast inactivation selectively reduce the firing in active cells. Slow inactivation is similar but does not produce complete blockade of voltage gated sodium channels, with both activation and inactivation occurring over hundreds of milliseconds or more. Lacosamide makes this inactivation happen at less depolarized membrane potentials