The invention provides a sustained release composition free of food effect comprising: (c) a core comprising carbamazepine; and (d) a functional coating comprising, based on the weight of the coating, from 30 to 80% of a gastroresistant polymer and from 10 to 40% of a hydrophilic silicon dioxide. The invention also provides a method for alleviating food effect in a carbamazepine pharmaceutical composition.

The present invention relates to a composition and method of treating a patient by administering carbamazepine in a pharmaceutical dosage form capable of maintaining the patient's blood concentration at from about 4 .mu.g/ml to about 12 .mu.g/ml over at least a 12 hour period, where the blood concentration of carbamazepine does not vary by more than 60 percent.

The present invention relates to a composition and method of treating a patient by administering carbamazepine in a pharmaceutical dosage form capable of maintaining the patient's blood concentration at from about 4 .mu.g/ml to about 12 .mu.g/ml over at least a 12 hour period, where the blood concentration of carbamazepine does not vary by more than 60 percent.