Eslicarbazepine as a Treatment for Vestibular Paroxysmia: Preliminary Results

To assess the potential of eslicarbazepine as an effective and tolerable treatment for vestibular paroxysmia compared to standard drugs.

A cohort of five patients fulfilling criteria of probable or definite vestibular paroxysmia were included in the study.

Patients were treated with eslicarbazepine in daily regime with an initial dose of 400 mg.

Reduction in number of crises of vestibular paroxysmia per week was measured according to patients' self-report, to evaluate clinical efficacy.

Mean treatment period was 10.6 months. Mean follow-up period was 21 months. Four of the five patients treated with eslicarbazepine achieved a total response with one of the five patients having a partial response with a mean reduction of 70% in the number of crises. The response to the withdrawal of the drug was highly variable in each patient. The most common adverse effects identified in the cohort were nausea, vomiting, and mild biochemical abnormalities. Two of the five patients experienced stochastic effects, which motivated drug removal.

Eslicarbazepine shows good preliminary results achieving symptomatic relief in patients diagnosed with vestibular paroxysmia. Its enhanced safety profile with less adverse effects and drug interactions with respect to standard therapies could facilitate therapeutical adherence without detriment of its efficacy.