New medication could be controlling seizures more effectively!

The new drug called Eslicarbazepine (ESL), offers the patients added convenience, as it is a once-daily dose, while current treatments can involve several doses per day. The research was conducted by the Department of Research and Development at BIAL in Portugal.As a part of the study, researchers conducted trials across 19 locations in five European countries: Croatia, The Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania and Poland, in which patients with at least four partial-onset seizures per month, in spite of treatment with other medications, were administered ESL doses ranging between 400mg and 1,200mg.

Researchers found that ESL was well tolerated and effective when used as adjunct therapy for adult patients with partial epilepsy, fully eliminating seizures in 24 percent of tested patients. The occurrence of side effects was also low when compared to other current treatment methods.No age- or gender-related differences were found in the effectiveness of the treatment. "Our study shows that ESL was safe and well tolerated.

We believe that ESL may have the potential to become an important new central nervous system drug not only for the treatment of epilepsy, but also for patients suffering from bipolar disorder and neuropathic pain," Patrmcio Soares-da-Silva, co-author of the study said.The findings of the research were published in the latest issue of Epilepsia.