carbamazepine
Mood stabilizer • Brands: TEGRETOL
Last reviewed: 2025-12-28
General information
- Class: Mood stabilizer
- Common US brands: TEGRETOL
- Therapeutic drug monitoring recommended; reference range 4000–12000 ng/mL.
- Last reviewed: 2025-12-28
Dosing & forms
- Forms/strengths: —
- Frequency: —
- Food: —
- Typical range: —
Mechanism (brief)
Voltage‑gated sodium channel blocker; reduces high‑frequency neuronal firing.
Metabolism & Half‑life
- Metabolism: CYP3A4 (autoinduction), epoxide metabolite
- Half‑life: Steady-state mean 15 h
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM)
Recommended: Yes
Reference range: 4000–12000 ng/mL
Monitoring highlights
- —
Sources
- TEGRETOL (carbamazepine) prescribing information — DailyMed (2025)
- The CANMAT and ISBD Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Bipolar Disorder: 2021 Update — Bipolar Disorders (2021)
- Bipolar disorder: assessment and management (NICE guideline CG185) — National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2020)
- Extended-release carbamazepine capsules in the treatment of acute mania — American Journal of Psychiatry (2004)
- Clinical pharmacokinetics of carbamazepine — Clinical Pharmacokinetics (1978)
- AGNP Consensus Guidelines for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Neuropsychopharmacology — Pharmacopsychiatry (2018)