The Investigation of Insulin Resistance in Two Groups of Epileptic Patients Treated with Sodium Valproate and Carbamazepine

Abstract

Background: Valproic acid (VPA) is a widely used broad-spectrum antiepileptic drug for therapy of generalized and focal epilepsies. Cross-sectional studies have suggested that valproate treatment may be associated with hyperinsulinemia. We decided to investigate hyperinsulinemia as a health-threatening side effect of VPA in Iranian epileptic patients. Materials and Methods: Body mass index (BMI), lipid profile, fasting serum insulin, fasting blood glucose (FBS), and homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were measured in 30 VPA-treated epileptic patients and 30 controls (CBZ-treated). The Chi-square test, t-test, and Pearson correlation test were used. Results: BMI was higher in VPA group than in control group (25.7 ± 3.5 > 21.7 ± 4.1) (0.000 0.05). Conclusion: Despite the majority of previous studies that are against VPA and according to our study, VPA could be prescribed safely and it may not cause IR and its complications.

Keywords

• Body mass index
• carbamazepine
• epilepsy
• homeostatic model assessment insulin resistance
• insulin resistance
• lipid profile
• sodium valproate