Monotherapy trials of new antiepileptic drugs.
A number of clinical trials that test the efficacy and safety of the newer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have recently been concluded. Two dose-response trials in inpatients with refractory partial seizures and outpatients with newly diagnosed partial epilepsy established the efficacy of gabapentin as monotherapy. Lamotrigine was found to have efficacy similar to that of phenytoin and carbamazepine (CBZ) and to be better tolerated than CBZ in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy. It was also shown to have efficacy as monotherapy in partial seizures, based on the results of an active controlled trial, and in the treatment of absence seizures, based on the results of a responder-enriched study. Topiramate as monotherapy was found to be efficacious for treatment of partial-onset seizures, based on the results of a single-center dose-response trial. A dose-response trial that tested the efficacy of tiagabine monotherapy in patients with refractory partial epilepsy was uninformative. Oxcarbazepine was found to be safe and efficacious in four comparative trials in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy as well as in one placebo-controlled inpatient trial in patients with refractory partial seizures.
Beydoun
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Department of Neurology, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor 48109, USA.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D017277:Drug Approval; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D010919:Placebos; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D010919:Placebos