Eslicarbazepine acetate: A therapeutic agent of paramount importance in acute anticonvulsant therapy

Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) is a new, once daily, orally administered, third generation antiepileptic drug which is indicated in the treatment of partial-onset seizures. ESL is known to exert it’s anticonvulsant effect by blocking the voltage-gated sodium channels. Several clinical trials and pharmacological studies have revealed that seizure control was better with ESL monotherapy (1 200 or 1 600 mg once daily) following a switch from other antiepileptic drugs in comparison with pseudo-placebo patients. The studies have indicated the ESL to be well tolerated and produced only mild to moderate emergent adverse events with the therapy. Being a dibenzazepine family member, structure and chemistry of ESL resembles more or less to carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine. ESL differs structurally from carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine at the 10, 11 position of dibenazepine nucleus. This molecular variation results in differences in metabolism and thus helps to prevent the formation of toxic epoxide metabolites. ESL following oral administration is rapidly metabolised to active metabolite namely S-licarbazepine which is responsible for its pharmacological activity. ESL exhibits acceptable pharmacokinetic profile and shows insignificant drug-drug interactions. In phase III clinical program, ESL was found to be efficacious and well tolerated in adult patients with partial onset seizures previously not controlled with treatment with one or two other antiepileptic drugs