Vigabatrin, sold under the brand name Sabril among others, is a medication used in the management and treatment of infantile spasms and refractory complex partial seizures.

[11] Vigabatrin reduced cholecystokinin tetrapeptide-induced symptoms of panic disorder, in addition to elevated cortisol and ACTH levels, in healthy volunteers.

[13] Sleepiness (12.5%), headache (3.8%), dizziness (3.8%), nervousness (2.7%), depression (2.5%), memory disturbances (2.3%), diplopia (2.2%), aggression (2.0%), ataxia (1.9%), vertigo (1.9%), hyperactivity (1.8%), vision loss (1.6%) (See below), confusion (1.4%), insomnia (1.3%), impaired concentration (1.2%), personality issues (1.1%).

[16] Other rare CNS side effects include anxiety, emotional lability, irritability, tremor, abnormal gait, and speech disorder.

In 2003, vigabatrin was shown by Frisén and Malmgren to cause irreversible diffuse atrophy of the retinal nerve fiber layer in a retrospective study of 25 patients.

[24] Five years later, the same two scientists reported a fall in concentration of phenytoin of 23% within five weeks in a paper describing their failed attempt at elucidating the mechanism behind this interaction.

[25] Vigabatrin is an irreversible mechanism-based inhibitor of gamma-aminobutyric acid aminotransferase (GABA-AT), the enzyme responsible for the catabolism of GABA.

[27],[28] With most drugs, elimination half-life is a useful predictor of dosing schedules and the time needed to reach steady state concentrations.

[28] Vigabatrin was developed in the 1980s with the specific goal of increasing GABA concentrations in the brain in order to stop an epileptic seizure.

[33][34] In April 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first generic powder packets for the oral solution version of vigabatrin.

The PREVeNT study found that early vigabatrin treatment delayed the onset and reduced the overall prevalence of infantile spasms in TSC infants.