Clobazam as adjunctive treatment in refractory epilepsy

Abstract

The benzodiazepines have an established role in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Diazepam finds use either intravenously or per rectum in the management of status epilepticus, and several of the 1, 4 structure have been evaluated for oral use in long term management of intractable seizures. More recently 1,5-benzodiazepines have been introduced, which are claimed to have fewer side effects but retain their therapeutic anticonvulsant potential. Clobazam has recently been evaluated as an anticonvulsant, and preliminary trials indicate its potential value as adjunctive treatment in epilepsy. We present the results of a double blind trial of clobazam versus placebo in patients with chronic poorly controlled epilepsy.