Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant medication used in the treatment of epilepsy and neuropathic pain. It is used as an adjunctive treatment in schizophrenia along with other medications and as a second-line agent in bipolar disorder.
It is typically used for the treatment of seizure disorders and neuropathic pain.
Off-label it is used as a second-line treatment for bipolar disorder and in combination with an antipsychotic in some cases of schizophrenia when treatment with a conventional antipsychotic alone has failed.
Although carbamazepine may have a similar effectiveness (as measured by people continuing to use a medication) and efficacy (as measured by the medicine reducing seizure recurrence and improving remission) when compared to phenytoin and valproate, choice of medication should be evaluated on an individual basis as further research is needed to determine which medication is most helpful for people with newly-onset seizures.
