Oxcarbazepine treatment in male epilepsy patients improves pre-existing sexual dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE

To collect data on sexual dysfunction in a larger population of male patients with epilepsy treated with oxcarbazepine in a naturalistic setting.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Six hundred seventy-three adult male patients with partial epilepsy in whom monotherapy with oxcarbazepine was indicated were evaluated at baseline and after approximately 12 weeks of treatment with regard to the number of seizures and occurrence of any adverse drug reactions. All patients were questioned regarding their sexual function.

RESULTS

Out of 228 patients with pre-existing sexual function impairment at baseline, an improvement was observed in 181 (79.4%) patients, 23 (10.1%) patients experienced no impairment at the final visit. The improvements were more marked in those patients, who were pretreated with enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs. No worsening of the sexual dysfunction was observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Oxcarbazepine was found to have beneficial effects on sexual dysfunction and to be effective and well tolerated in male patients with partial epilepsy.