The Sound of Evolution
Oxcarbazepine
Mechanism of action:
Oxcarbazepine is a dibenzazepine derivative that must be metabolized into an active 10-monohydroxy metabolite before exerting its effect. This active metabolite binds to voltage-gated Na+ channels on neuronal membranes, stabilizes their inactivated state, and prevents excessive repetitive opening and the generation of high-frequency action potentials.
Reference(s):
1. Malatkova P et al. (2014). The role of carbonyl reducing enzymes in oxcarbazepine in vitro metabolism in man. Chem Biol Interact.
2. Antunes NJ et al. (2017). Population pharmacokinetics of oxcarbazepine and its metabolite 10-hydroxycarbazepine in healthy subjects. Eur J Pharm Sci.
3. Zhang C et al. (2011). In vitro transport profile of carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, eslicarbazepine acetate, and their active metabolites by human P-glycoprotein. Epilepsia.