Eslicarbazepine may make management easier, safer for patients with epilepsy, researchers say
FRIDAY, April 15, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Once-daily eslicarbazepine acetate (Aptiom) may control seizures just as well as twice-daily carbamazepine (Tegretol, Carbatrol), according to research scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, held from April 15 to 21 in Vancouver, Canada.
Elinor Ben-Menachem, M.D., of Gothenburg University in Sweden, and colleagues compared once-daily eslicarbazepine acetate to twice-daily carbamazepine in 815 patients newly diagnosed with partial seizures.
After six months, 71 percent of those taking eslicarbazepine and 76 percent of those taking carbamazepine were seizure-free. After one year, 65 percent of those taking eslicarbazepine and 70 percent of those taking carbamazepine were seizure-free.
“Seizure control is crucial. A once-a-day drug may help people stick to their medication schedule,” Ben-Menachem said in a news release from the American Academy of Neurology. “Memory issues, fatigue or a complicated medication schedule can all interfere with a person taking their seizure-control medications on a regular basis,” she added, “so having a once-daily option for patients, especially when they are newly diagnosed and still learning to manage the disease, may be beneficial.”
The study was funded by Portuguese drug maker BIAL-Portela & Ca.
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