Longterm Antiepileptic Therapy and Bone Health: Implications for Patients with Brain Tumors

Abstract

<p><strong>Objective. </strong>The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of carbamazepine (CBZ) and lamotrigine (LTG) treatment on bone metabolism in epileptic patients.</p><p><strong>Patients and Methods. </strong>A cross-sectional study was performed on normal controls (N=30) and 100 patients with symptomatic epilepsy caused by a primary brain tumor, divided into two groups according to the treatment: LTG monotherapy group (N=50) and CBZ monotherapy group (N=50). For each participant serum levels of 25-OHD and osteocalcin (OCLN) were measured, and bone mineral density (BMD) was evaluated by the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry method.</p><p><strong>Results</strong>. There was no statistically significant difference in the average values of vitamin D in serum between the CBZ and LTG groups (Vitamin D CBZ 17.03±}12.86 vs. Vitamin D LTG 17.97±}9.15; F=0.171, P=0.680). There was no statistically significant difference in the average values of OCLN between the CBZ and LTG groups (OCLN CBZ 26.06±}10.87 vs. OCLN LTG 27.87±}28.45; F=0.171, P=0.674). The BMD value was lower in both groups using antiepileptic agents compared to the controls, but when comparing the CBZ group to the LTG group, a statistically significant difference was only observed for the Z score (T-score CBZ: 0.08±} 1.38 vs. T-score LTG: 0.37±} 1.02; F=1.495, P=0.224; Z score CBZ: -0.05±}1.17 vs. Z. Score CBZ: 0.38±}0.96; F=4.069, P=0.046) (Table 3).</p><strong>Conclusion</strong>. The choice of antiepileptic agents for treating seizures in patients with brain tumors should be carefully evaluated in relation to their impact on bone health. These patients could benefit from supplementation and regular measurement of biochemical markers of bone turnover and BMD.

Association between serum vitamin D status and the anti-seizure treatment in Chinese children with epilepsy

“…Offerman et al ( 10 ) first reported the high prevalence of lower VitD status in childhood epilepsy in 1979. Since then, such issues have received widespread attention, and similar findings have been reported ( 55 – 57 ). Although most studies suggest that ASMs eroded serum VitD levels, it is far from reaching consistent conclusion.…”