For people with epilepsy who take the anti-seizure medicine carbamazepine, switching from an immediate-release form of the drug to an extended-release formulation reduces side effects and improves their quality of life, a multicenter study suggests.

What’s more, the slow-release drug seems to enhance Seizure prevention.

Dr. David M. Ficker, at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Ohio, and colleagues assessed 453 patients, ages 12 and older, before they switched to extended-release carbamazepine, known by the brand name Carbatrol, and then three months after.

As reported in the medical journal Neurology, the participants experienced significant improvements in side effects such as sedation, vertigo, difficulty in coordination, confusion and double-vision. Also, scores on a standardized quality-of-life scale improved significantly.

Even though the researchers did not expect to see any difference in efficacy, changing drug formulation resulted in a reduction in the average monthly Seizure count.

They suggest that the improvement may be due to increased patient compliance - because of a more convenient dosing schedule with the extended-release product - or perhaps to fewer breakthrough Seizures related to decreased fluctuations in drug levels in the blood.

These findings indicate that “there may be potential benefits from new formulations of older antiepileptic drugs with improved tolerability,” Ficker and his team conclude.

SOURCE: Neurology, August 23, 2005.