Memory effects following carbamazepine monotherapy in patients with complex partial epilepsy.
To evaluate the memory effects of carbamazepine (CBZ) monotherapy, a relatively large computerized neuropsychological test battery, specially developed to assess the properties of different memory systems, was administered to a group of patients with epilepsy in a pre-test--post-test control group design. Consistent with previous findings, the results show that CBZ treatment does not induce any general important or consistent negative signs of memory dysfunction. However, the epilepsy group as such demonstrates a relative inability to carry out more complex working memory tasks and they are also slower in simple long-term memory access tasks. Finally, the detailed findings suggest that CBZ plasma concentration levels within the therapeutic range are highly and negatively associated with short-term recency, which is a novel finding.
Department of Education and Psychology, Linköping University, Sweden.
J
J
Rönnberg
S
S
Samuelsson
B
B
Söderfeldt
D000328:Adult; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017029:Epilepsy, Complex Partial / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000187:drug effects
D002220:Carbamazepine