Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0917801 (insomnia)
 10,606 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

After the first year of clinical experience, felbamate (FBM) appears to be a valuable antiepileptic drug (AED) for the treatment of intractable epilepsy. However, many patients experience side effects that may discourage continued usage. These may be decreased by using a slower dose-escalation schedule and/or by being more aggressive in decreasing co-medication. The most common troublesome side effects are nausea and insomnia. With the recent observation of aplastic anemia, FBM should be considered only for persons with intractable epilepsy under the care of a physician familiar with FBM. Nevertheless, many patients have benefited significantly from FBM and have made a decision to continue receiving FBM at the presently known risk profile. A few more years of experience may be needed to more accurately determine the final place of FBM in the treatment of epilepsy.
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PMID:Felbamate. 878 15

Felbamate, 2-phenyl-1,3-propanediol dicarbamate, is an antiepileptic drug recently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. It has a novel mechanism of action whereby it may decrease excitation by inhibiting glycine binding at the NMDA receptor, and it appears to have neuroprotective properties in addition to antiepileptic ones. A number of animal models have demonstrated felbamate to have a broad range of efficacy as well as a favorable safety profile. In humans it has been potentially linked to some cases of aplastic anemia. It is effective in the treatment of partial and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures as well as seizures associated with the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, especially drop attacks. It may also be effective against atypical absence as well as other seizure types. Felbamate monotherapy is generally well tolerated, with such side effects as insomnia and anorexia occurring most commonly. Felbamate shows great promise as a useful antiepileptic drug, but its role in clinical practice awaits further investigation of recently reported cases of aplastic anemia.
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PMID:Felbamate pharmacology and use in epilepsy. 931 88