Endocrine Abnormalities Induced by Antiepileptic Drugs

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder commonly seen in pediatric age. A large number of anti epileptic Drugs are now available for the treatment of this disease; although many of these drugs have good efficacy in the treatment of both partial and generalized epilepsies, their use can be associated with various endocrinological side effects. During treatment are commonly observed changes in serum levels of many hormones, such as insulin, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, corticotrophin and the main sexual hormones. Therefore, in epileptic patients treated with antiepileptic, it is common to observe a number of clinical problems like abnormalities in pubertal development, weight gain, gonad dysfunction, hypothyroidism, etc. Both seizures and drugs could compromise hormonal balance in epileptic patients, but it is not yet clear to distinguish their effects. The aim of this review is to focus on the main endocrinological abnormalities induced by antiepileptic drugs, in order to achieve a critical analysis of the recent researches on this topic and to offer practical advice for a better care of epileptic children.