Treatment of epilepsy in mentally retarded patients with a slow-release carbamazine preparation.

The article focuses on epilepsy in mentally retarded patients. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is currently used in the treatment of various epileptic disorders in all age groups. It is as effective as phenobarbital, phenytoin or primidone in the prevention of generalized tonic-clonic seizures, but significantly more effective than the others in the treatment of complex partial seizures. In a steady-state situation, the half-life of CBZ becomes shorter and the fluctuations in serum concentrations of the drug become more pronounced than in the beginning of the treatment, since CBZ induces its own metabolism.