A comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of controlled-release carbamazepine with conventional carbamazepine.

We compared the efficacy and tolerability of controlled-release carbamazepine (CBZ-CR) with conventional carbamazepine (CBZ) in 131 epileptic patients (both men and women, ages 6-65 years) in an open, multicentre, cross-over trial. Patients entered into the trial were previously on CBZ monotherapy or polytherapy. During the first 4 weeks, patients were treated with equivalent daily doses of CBZ and then switched to CBZ-CR for the subsequent 4 weeks. The majority of patients were switched to the more convenient b.i.d. dosing schedule of the controlled-release (CR) preparation without a detrimental effect on seizure frequency or adverse effects. In 44/131 (34%) of patients, the switch to CBZ-CR was accompanied by an improvement in tolerability, primarily due to a reduction in peak-dependent CNS side-effects such as tiredness, double or blurred vision, dizziness and ataxia. At the end of the study, investigators preferred CBZ-CR for 76% of their patients and 70% of the patients preferred CBZ-CR.