Mesuximide (or methsuximide, methosuximide) is a

succinimide Succinimide is an organic compound with the formula (CH2)2(CO)2NH. This white solid is used in a variety of organic syntheses, as well as in some industrial silver plating processes. The compound is classified as a cyclic imide. It may be prepared ...

anticonvulsant Anticonvulsants (also known as antiepileptic drugs or recently as antiseizure drugs) are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of b ...

medication. It is sold as a

racemate In chemistry, a racemic mixture, or racemate (), is one that has equal amounts of left- and right-handed enantiomers of a chiral molecule or salt. Racemic mixtures are rare in nature, but many compounds are produced industrially as racemates. ...

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

under the tradenames Petinutin (Switzerland) and Celontin (United States). The therapeutic efficacy of methosuximide is largely due to its pharmacologically active metabolite, ''N''-desmethylmethosuximide, which has a longer half-life and attains much higher plasma levels than its parent.

Medical use

is indicated for the control of

absence seizure Absence seizures are one of several kinds of generalized seizures. These seizures are sometimes referred to as petit mal seizures (from the French for "little illness", a term dated in the late 18th century). Absence seizures are characterized by ...

s that are refractory to other drugs.

References

Anticonvulsants Succinimides {{anticonvulsant-stub