Change of pitch due to carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine independently

Abstract

Introduction; Absolute pitch (AP) is the term used to denote the cognitive ability to spontaneously and effortlessly identify and vocally produce specific musical tones without a reference note.1 Abnormalities of pitch perception are a recognized rare side effect of carbamazepine (CBZ). The mechanism of this side effect is not clear. The same symptom may also be associated with oxcarbazepine (OXC) although this is even rarer. We report a twenty-two year-old woman with partial and prolonged secondarily generalized seizures who complained of a one semitone lowering of pitch perception during CBZ therapy. After stopping CBZ and switching to OXC, she noticed that pitch perception was one semitone higher than normal.

Absolute pitch (AP) is the term used to denote the cognitive ability to spontaneously and effortlessly identify and vocally produce specific musical tones without a reference note. Abnormalities of pitch perception are a recognized rare side effect of carbamazepine (CBZ). The mechanism of this side effect is not clear. The same symptom may also be associated with oxcarbazepine (OXC) although this is even rarer. We report a twenty-two year-old woman with partial and prolonged secondarily generalized seizures who complained of a one semitone lowering of pitch perception during CBZ therapy. After stopping CBZ and switching to OXC, she noticed that pitch perception was one semitone higher than normal.