A CONTROLLED TRIAL ON Ro 5-4023 (CLONAZEPAM) IN THE TREATMENT OF PSYCHOMOTOR EPILEPSY

In a controlled trial based on 21 patients with psychomotor seizures and insufficient response to conventional anti-epileptic treatment, the benzodiazepine derivative Ro 5-4023 (clonazepam) combined with previous anti-epileptic drugs was compared with placebo combined with the same previous anti-epileptic drugs. The trial was single-blind, crossover with sequential analysis. In a daily dosage of usually 6 mg clonazepam was significantly superior to placebo. Side-effects in form of somnolence, fatigue, drowsiness and coordination disturbances occurred in most of the patients, but could be easily controlled by slow increase or slight reduction of dosage. Further studies with clonazepam alone seem to be justified.