In this article, we will talk about Drug Zonegran for Epilepsy. Zonegran has been marketed as a drug for monotherapy of partial seizures with or without secondary generalization in adult patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Let’s try to understand this issue more closely.
About epilepsy
Epilepsy is one of the most common diseases of the nervous system in the world. In Europe, it affects 8 people out of 1000 and in the world there are 50 million patients. Epilepsy is a chronic disease of the brain that can occur at any age. It appears in the form of seizures caused by excessive neuronal activity. Seizures vary in severity from brief absences or muscle convulsions to intense, prolonged convulsions. Depending on their type, seizures may be limited to one part of the body or affect the entire body. Seizures also vary in frequency of occurrence and may occur at intervals ranging from less than once a year to several times a day. Epilepsy is a polytological disease, but in some cases the genesis is unclear.
Monotherapy is the first stage of treatment for newly diagnosed epilepsy. The advantages of monotherapy compared to polytherapy are the absence of interaction between drugs and simplification of the therapy regimen. Monotherapy is the optimal approach for the treatment of newly diagnosed partial epilepsy.
Epilepsy is one of the most common diseases of the nervous system worldwide. Successful treatment of partial epilepsy (the most common type of epilepsy) represents an important medical challenge: approximately 30% of patients fail to achieve drug remission on the basis of therapy with drugs already on the market.
The efficacy and safety of Zonegran in monotherapy have been confirmed by a double-blind, randomized, multicenter study of 583 adult patients with newly diagnosed partial epilepsy comparing the efficacy and safety of taking Zonegran once daily versus taking controlled-release carbamazepine, also in monotherapy, twice daily. The primary endpoint of the study was the percentage of patients achieving seizure relief for a period of ≥26 weeks. Zonegran demonstrated high seizure relief efficacy in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy, similar to controlled-release carbamazepine.
About the drug Zonegran
Zonegran has received registration approval as a drug for monotherapy of partial epileptic seizures with and without secondary generalization, in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Also in Europe, Zonegran is indicated for use as adjunctive therapy for partial epileptic seizures with or without secondary generalization in patients from six years of age. Zonegran has a wide range of mechanisms of action and interacts minimally with other preparations such as phenytoin, carbamazepine, valproate. Zonegran is one of four drugs with a level of evidence of effectiveness A for monotherapy of partial epilepsy, according to the guidelines.