Lamotrigine

Category: pharmacological

Aliases: Lamictal

Pharmacological Mechanism

Voltage-gated sodium-channel blocker — also weak Ca²⁺-channel + glutamate-release modulation. First-line for focal epilepsy + bipolar maintenance (mood stabilizer). UGT1A4 substrate (valproate doubles half-life). SJS/TEN risk → mandatory 6-week titration.

Half-Life (t½)

PO: 36h

Dosing Guidelines

• PO: Typical 200 mg (Range: 25–400 mg)

Target Organ Systems

• nervous

Pathways It Modulates

• BDNF / TrkB neurotrophic signaling (activator) — BDNF (modest, chronic)
• Metabotropic glutamate receptors (inhibitor) — Na⁺ channel → ↓glutamate release (indirect mGluR upstream)
• Voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav1.x) (inhibitor) — Nav1.x + glutamate release inhibition

Chemical Identifiers

• PubChem CID: 3878
• Formula: C9H7Cl2N5
• Molecular weight: 256.09 g/mol
• InChIKey: PYZRQGJRPPTADH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• SMILES: C1=CC(=C(C(=C1)Cl)Cl)C2=C(N=C(N=N2)N)N

References

• PMID 8119045