Antiepileptic drugs and quality of life in the elderly: results from a randomized double-blind trial of carbamazepine and lamotrigine in patients with onset of epilepsy in old age.

During an international double-blind trial evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of lamotrigine and carbamazepine in patients aged >or=65 with newly diagnosed epilepsy, the comparative effects of the drugs on health-related quality of life were investigated based on screening and 12-, 28-, and 40-week data, using the modified Side Effect and Life Satisfaction (SEALS) Inventory and the Liverpool Adverse Event Profile. Of 167 patients, 29 discontinued before first follow-up, and data were incomplete for 13. In 125 eligible subjects (62 taking carbamazepine, 63 taking lamotrigine), comparable baseline data did not change significantly during medication, within or across treatments. A borderline difference in the SEALS Dysphoria subscores favored lamotrigine. No difference between completers and noncompleters was identified. Twelve-week data for noncompleters were comparable across treatments. Changes in the inventories up to 40 weeks correlated moderately. Neither lamotrigine nor carbamazepine seems likely to cause significant changes in health-related quality of life measures after 40 weeks at therapeutic doses.