Abstract

▼Oxcarbazepine* (Trileptal - Novartis), an anti-epileptic first marketed in the UK in 2000, is licensed for use both as adjunctive (add-on) therapy and as monotherapy for adults and children aged 6 years or over with partial-onset epileptic seizures, with or without secondary generalisation. The company claims that oxcarbazepine has "comparable efficacy" to carbamazepine with "greater tolerability", and causes "fewer withdrawals due to side effects compared to most established antiepileptic drugs". Here we discuss the place of oxcarbazepine in the treatment of epilepsy.