What is lamotrigine?
Lamotrigine is a so-called anti-epileptic drug, i.e. it is used to treat epilepsy. It is used to treat epilepsy in adults and adolescents, but also in children. Lamotrigine is also used as a drug for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Lamotrigine can be used alone, i.e. in monotherapy, or with other drugs for the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder.
Indications for Lamotrigine
Lamotrigine shows good efficacy in a variety of epilepsy forms. It is used in the treatment of focal seizures but also in grand mal seizures (generalized seizures). Also absences, a typical form of epilepsy in children, can be treated with Lamotrigine.
Lamotrigine is also used in the severe form of childhood epilepsy, the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Lamotrigine also prevents possible withdrawal cramps in alcohol withdrawal. Another indication for lamotrigine is bipolar disorder, in which patients suffer from extreme mood swings with phases of mania and phases of depression.
In the treatment of bipolar disorder, lamotrigine prevents especially the depressive phase. It is also used in unipolar depression. Lamotrigine is also used to treat neuropathic pain.
In migraine prophylaxis, lamotrigine seems to have a special effect on the so-called migraine aura. Migraine is sometimes difficult to control with drug therapy. In addition to acute therapy, in which mainly so-called triptans are used, drugs are also used for the prophylaxis of migraine attacks.
Studies have shown an efficacy in therapy with lamotrigine for the special form of migraine with aura. In migraine without aura, however, lamotrigine does not appear to be effective. About one fifth of all patients suffer from migraine with aura.
This describes a mostly visual disturbance preceding the headache attacks. This disorder is transient and can affect not only the visual system but also olfactory, balance, speech or sensitivity. For migraine patients with aura, lamotrigine seems to be a possible treatment option. Do you suffer from migraine?
Effect
Lamotrigine is a drug from the group of antiepileptic drugs. It is used in long-term therapy for the prevention of seizures. Lamotrigine acts on nerve cells and reduces the release of so-called excitatory neurotransmitters.
Lamotrigine thus strengthens inhibitory signals in the brain and raises the threshold for seizures. Lamotrigine is considered to be a newer anticonvulsant, with broad use and fewer side effects and interactions than classic antiepileptic drugs. The active substance is also used to treat epilepsy in adolescents aged twelve years and older, and even in children between the ages of two and twelve years if the indication is appropriate.
Lamotrigine is generally considered to be well tolerated, but like any drug it can also have side effects. More information about anticonvulsant drugs can be found here: Drugs for epilepsyTo avoid sometimes serious side effects, lamotrigine must be administered slowly. This means that it is generally started with a lower dose, which is increased over several weeks.
Several weeks may therefore pass before the individual, optimal dose is reached. The onset of action in combination therapy with other antiepileptic drugs is usually faster, but monotherapy should still be started. Several drugs increase the risk of side effects and interactions.
The half-life for lamotrigine in monotherapy, i.e. as the sole drug in treatment, is about 24 hours. The half-life can be extended or shortened by the addition of other drugs, as they can influence the metabolism of lamotrigine. At which dose the patient is optimally adjusted is very individual. Therefore, one should primarily be guided by the clinic (i.e. the frequency of seizures) and the lamotrigine level in the blood.
