Once-daily Aptiom demonstrates efficacy similar to twice-daily carbamazepine in epilepsy

Once-a-day Aptiom was as effective at controlling seizures in patients with epilepsy as twice-a-day carbamazepine, according to a preliminary study released ahead of the American Academy of Neurology meeting.

Elinor Ben-Menachem, MD, of Gothenburg University in Gothenburg, Sweden, and colleagues studied the two drugs in newly diagnosed adults with partial-onset seizures.

"Seizure control is crucial," Ben-Menachem said in an accompanying press release. "A once-a-day drug may help people stick to their medication schedule."

The researchers conducted a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, non-inferiority study.

Ben-Menachem randomly assigned 815 adults aged at least 18 years who were newly diagnosed with partial-onset seizures to either once-daily Aptiom (eslicarbazepine acetate, Sunovion) or twice-daily carbamazepine for 6 months. Both drugs were administered at three dosing levels: Patients started at the lowest dose and only received increases if they continued to have seizures.

Results showed that 71.1% of patients on eslicarbazepine acetate and 75.6% of patients on carbamazepine were seizure-free for at least 6 months (average risk difference = –4.28%; 95% CI, –10.3 to 1.74). After 1 year, 64.7% of patients on eslicarbazepine acetate and 70.3% of patients on carbamazepine were seizure-free (average risk difference = –5.46%; 95% CI, –11.88 to 0.97).

The researchers concluded that once-daily eslicarbazepine acetate was noninferior to twice-daily carbamazepine.

"Memory issues, fatigue, or a complicated medication schedule can all interfere with a person taking their seizure-control medications on a regular basis, so having a once-daily option for patients, especially when they are newly diagnosed and still learning to manage the disease, may be beneficial," Ben-Menachem said in the release. "The hope is that these results may also give doctors more options to tailor treatments for people with epilepsy." – by Chelsea Frajerman Pardes

Reference:

Ben-Menachem-E, et al. Efficacy of eslicarbazepine acetate versus controlled-release carbamazepine as monotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed partial-onset seizures. Presented at: American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting; April 15-21, 2016; Vancouver, British Columbia.

Disclosures: The study was supported by BIAL - Portela & Cª SA. Healio Internal Medicine was unable to confirm author disclosures at the time of publication.