Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a syndrome of intractable pain following an acute infection of herpes zoster (shingles).~Treatment for PHN is often suboptimal. More than 50% of the subjects fail to respond to pharmacological treatments or experience intolerable side effects.~The clinical development of ESL to treat neuropathic pain is based on its chemical and pharmacodynamic relationship to sodium channel blockers, including carbamazepine, which is effective for treating some neuropathic pain conditions. Preclinical data supports the theoretical background.~This study will examine the efficacy, safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of Eslicarbazepine acetate for the treatment of post herpetic neuralgia.
The primary objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL) as therapy in subjects with Post-herpetic Neuralgia (PHN) over a 15 week treatment phase.