Oxcarbazepine in neuropathic pain

Abstract

Neuropathic pain is a frequent condition that can result from a variety of underlying conditions and is frequently chronic and difficult to treat. A number of drugs are used to treat neuropathic pain, including anticonvulsants and antidepressants. Oxcarbazepine, a recently introduced antiepileptic drug, was found to possess antineuralgic properties in animal models of neuropathic pain. Several double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have evaluated oxcarbazepine in painful diabetic neuropathy and trigeminal neuralgia. There is good evidence that oxcarbazepine is effective in relieving the pain associated with trigeminal neuralgia. Its efficacy in treating painful diabetic neuropathy is less clear; however, it seems to be useful when tolerated at doses of 1800 mg/day.

Keywords::

• antiepileptic drugs
• neuropathic pain
• oxcarbazepine

Disclosure

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare and no fee has been received for the preparation of the manuscript.

Notes