Oxcarbazepine (Trileptal®) versus carbamazepine (Tegretol®)

Oxcarbazepine(Trileptal®) is a mood stabilizer chemically related to carbamazepine(Tegretol®). What are the advantages and disadvantages of oxcarbazepine compared to carbamazepine? Advantages: 1. Oxcarbazepine is less likely to cause bone marrow suppression and therefore, unlike with carbamazepine, repeated complete blood counts are not essential. However, oxcarbazepine can cause bone marrow suppression in rare cases (e.g., Hsiao et…