[Anticonvulsive drugs in therapy of chronic pain--metaanalysis].

Anticonvulsive drugs provide good analgesic effect in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain syndromes as well as in certain types of headache. Moreover these drugs may also be considered helpful for cases of non-neuropathic pain, especially if non-opioid analgesics are not effective. The optimal anticonvulsive drug for neuropathic pain is carbamazepine, while for headache prophylaxis valproic acid is recommended.