title: Oxcarbazepine versus carbamazepine in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal.
abstract: In a single-blinded and randomized pilot study efficacy and tolerability of oxcarbazepine versus carbamazepine were investigated in 29 patients during therapy of alcohol withdrawal. No initial differences were found regarding sociodemographic data and alcohol-related parameters, indicating successful randomization. The oxcarbazepine group showed a significant decrease of withdrawal symptoms and reported significantly less 'craving for alcohol' compared to the carbamazepine group. Subjectively experienced side effects, normalization of vegetative parameters and improvement in the cognitive processing speed did not reveal differences for both groups. Therefore, oxcarbazepine might be an interesting alternative to carbamazepine, and having almost no addictive potential, no clinically relevant interaction with alcohol and no prominent sedatory effect, possibly also to other drugs such as benzodiazepines or clomethiazole, in the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Germany. schik.gesa@mh-hannover.de
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schik
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Wedegaertner
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liersch
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoy
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Emrich
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schneider
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002220:Carbamazepine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000078330:Oxcarbazepine; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D002220:Carbamazepine; D000431:Ethanol; D000078330:Oxcarbazepine