Carbamazepine

Carbamazepine, also known as Tegretol, is an anticonvulsant drug and analgesic drug used to control seizures and to treat pain resulting from trigeminal neuralgia. It was initially approved by the FDA in 1965. Aside from the above uses, this drug is also given to control the symptoms of bipolar 1. Interestingly, carbamazepine was the first anticonvulsant used to treat individuals with bipolar disorder.

Carbamazepine is indicated for the treatment of epilepsy and pain associated with true trigeminal neuralgia. In particular, carbamazepine has shown efficacy in treating mixed seizures, partial seizures with complex symptoms, and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Carbamazepine is also indicated for the treatment of manic episodes and mixed manic-depressive episodes caused by bipolar I disorder. Some off-label, unapproved uses of carbamazepine include the treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome and restless leg syndrome.