Lamotrigine for trigeminal neuralgia: Efficacy and safety in comparison with carbamazepine

Abstract Background Anticonvulsants are regarded as useful for the treatment of neuropathic pain. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and occurrence of side effects of lamotrigine (LTG) in comparison with carbamazepine (CBZ), in trigeminal neuralgia (TN) patients. Methods The study was an inter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Chinese Medical Association 2011-06, Vol.74 (6), p.243-249
Main Authors: Shaikh, Sameer, Yaacob, Hashim Bin, Abd Rahman, Rusdi Bin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Analgesics - therapeutic use
Anticonvulsants
Carbamazepine
Carbamazepine - adverse effects
Carbamazepine - therapeutic use
Clinical trials
Cross-Over Studies
Female
Humans
Internal Medicine
Kidney
Lamotrigine
Liver
Male
Middle Aged
Neuralgia
Neuropathy
Pain
Pain Measurement
Pain relief
Side effects
Titration
Triazines - adverse effects
Triazines - therapeutic use
Trigeminal neuralgia
Trigeminal Neuralgia - drug therapy
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Summary:Abstract Background Anticonvulsants are regarded as useful for the treatment of neuropathic pain. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy and occurrence of side effects of lamotrigine (LTG) in comparison with carbamazepine (CBZ), in trigeminal neuralgia (TN) patients. Methods The study was an interventional and crossover comparison. Twenty-one patients with TN were administered with LTG in comparison to CBZ. The clinical trials comprised two phases of 40 days each, with an intervening three-day washout period. The final titration in dose for LTG was 400 mg and 1,200 mg for CBZ. Efficacy of the medications involved was determined by visual analog scale (VAS) and verbal rating scale (VRS). Side effects were recorded through marking of the profiles of side effects encountered on administration of LTG and CBZ, together with baseline haematological, hepatic and renal investigations. Results Both on VAS and VRS assessments, in terms of proportion of patients, CBZ benefitted 90.5% (19/21) of the patients with pain relief ( p   0.05). Meanwhile, LTG inflicted 14% (3/21) of the patients with haematological, hepatic and renal derangements, as compared with 48% (10/21) on CBZ. Conclusion LTG is generally an effective and safe treatment for management of TN, compared to CBZ.
ISSN:1726-4901
1728-7731
DOI:10.1016/j.jcma.2011.04.002