Serum lipid profile in children receiving anti-epileptic drug monotherapy: is it atherogenic?

The effect of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) on serum lipid profile is controversial in children as well as in adults. We longitudinally studied serum lipid profile in 34 newly diagnosed epileptic children receiving AED monotherapy with valproic acid (VPA), carbamazepine (CBZ) or phenobarbital (PB). Serum levels of total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglycerides (TGs), apolipoprotein Al (Apo A1) and apolipoprotein B (Apo B) were measured at baseline and after 2 years of AED monotherapy.

Antiepileptic drug-induced osteopenia in ambulatory epileptic children receiving a standard vitamin D3 supplement.

Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) is a non-invasive, rapid, accurate and highly reproducible method for the assessment of antiepileptic drug (AED)-induced osteopenia in epileptic children. In this study, we investigated bone mineral density (BMD) using DEXA in 56 epileptic children receiving long-term AED treatment for at least 2 years. All children received AED monotherapy or polytherapy plus a standard vitamin D3 supplement (400 U/day).