1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-6-88 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-6-11-12 Anticonvulsant Drugs Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Anticonvulsants and Serum Cholesterol http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 11 1992 01 07 2016 6 11 88 88 Copyright: © 1992 The Author(s) 1992 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides in children receiving antiepileptic drugs

The effect of antiepileptic drugs (AED) on total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides was studied in 208 epileptic children compared with 175 normal children at the University of Bologna, Italy.

 Antiepileptic Drugs High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol

The effect of antiepileptic drugs (AED) on total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and triglycerides was studied in 208 epileptic children compared with 175 normal children at the University of Bologna, Italy. In epileptic patients the mean total cholesterol plasma level was higher (195 mg/dl) than that of controls (184 mg/dl). HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not different in the two groups. Carbamazepine and phenobarbital treated patients had significant elevations of mean cholesterol values and valproate treated patients had a significant lowering of cholesterol. An increase in cholesterol in the primidone and phenytoin treated patients was not significant. In a group of 32 patients studied before and during AED therapy the total cholesterol level before therapy was 168 mg/dl and after therapy 203 mg/dl. The highest level (313 mg/dl) of total cholesterol was observed in a boy receiving carbamazepine therapy. [1]

COMMENT. Carbamazepine treated patients with a family history of hypercholesterolemia or cardiac infarction should be followed carefully for elevated levels of total cholesterol. The effect of antiepileptic drugs on cholesterol levels during treatment with the ketogenic diet should be carefully monitored, especially when treatment is combined with carbamazepine or phenobarbital.

Carbamazepine appeared to be responsible for a nonconvulsive status epilepticus in a 12 year old epileptic girl, in a report from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO [2]. CBZ level was 7.1 mcg/ml on admission. The absence status was resistant to multiple AEDs and was associated with increased intracranial pressure and transiet MRI abnormalities. CBZ should be avoided in patients with generalized, synchronous, spike-and-wave EEG patterns.

 Franzoni E Govoni M D’Addato S Gualandi S Sangiorgi Z Descovich GC Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides in children receiving antiepileptic drugs Epilepsia 1992 Sep-Oct 33 5 932 935 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1992.tb02203.x 1396438 Callahan DJ Noetzel MJ Prolonged absence status epilepticus associated with carbamazepine therapy, increased intracranial pressure, and transient MRI abnormalities Neurology 1992 Nov 42 11 2198 2201 10.1212/WNL.42.11.2198 1436536