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Eslicarbazepine Acetate: A Review in Focal-Onset Seizures

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Abstract

Eslicarbazepine acetate (Zebinix®), a voltage-gated sodium channel blocker, is a once-daily, orally administered anti-seizure medication available in the EU for use as monotherapy in adults with newly diagnosed focal-onset seizures and as adjunctive therapy in adults, adolescents and children aged > 6 years with focal-onset seizures. In adult patients, adjunctive eslicarbazepine acetate was generally associated with a significant decrease in seizure frequency and an increase in responder rate compared with placebo. The drug was also an effective monotherapy agent in adult patients, demonstrating noninferiority to controlled-release carbamazepine, in terms of seizure freedom rates. In paediatric patients, eslicarbazepine acetate provided seizure control when administered as adjunctive therapy, with the benefits appearing to be dependent on age and dose. The antiepileptic efficacy of eslicarbazepine acetate as adjunctive therapy or as monotherapy was maintained during longer-term extension studies, with each extension study period being up to 2 years. Oral eslicarbazepine acetate was generally well tolerated when administered as adjunctive therapy or monotherapy in adult patients and when administered as adjunctive therapy in paediatric patients, with most adverse events being of mild or moderate intensity. In conclusion, with the convenience of once-daily administration, eslicarbazepine acetate is an effective and generally well-tolerated treatment option for adults, adolescents and children aged > 6 years with focal-onset seizures.

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Acknowledgements

During the peer review process, the manufacturer of eslicarbazepine acetate was also offered an opportunity to review this article. Changes resulting from comments received were made on the basis of scientific and editorial merit.

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    Young-A Heo

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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

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Young-A Heo is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, is responsible for the article content and declares no relevant conflicts of interest.

Additional information

The manuscript was reviewed by: D. Lindhout, Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Utrecht/Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland, Heemstede, the Netherlands; E. Santamarina, Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Department, Hospital Vall d´Hebron, Barcelona, Spain; P.E. Smith, Welsh Epilepsy Centre, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom; A. Strzelczyk, Department of Neurology and Epilepsy Center Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Goethe-University Frankfurt and University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.

Enhanced material for this Adis Drug Evaluation can be found at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12486323.

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Heo, YA. Eslicarbazepine Acetate: A Review in Focal-Onset Seizures. CNS Drugs 34, 989–1000 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40263-020-00751-3

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