Hormone-dependent abnormality of the female sexual sphere during monotherapy with valproate, carbamazepine, and lamotrigine

Abstract

Hormonal function of the ovary was analyzed in 95 childbearing-age (18—30-year-old) epileptic patients receiving monotherapy with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) for at least a year. Of them, 40, 40, and 15 patients had monotherapy with valproic acid, carbamazepine, or lamotrigine, respectively. Fifty-two (54.7%) patients with epilepsy were observed to have ovarian hormonal dysfunctions characterized by lower progesterone levels and higher luteinizing hormone and testosterone concentrations in both the follicular and luteinic phase of a menstrual cycle. The magnitude of hormonal changes depended on the specific features of epilepsy: duration, form, site of an epileptogenic focus. The use of various AEDs had an insignificant impact on the rate and pattern of hormonal abnormalities.

Keywords

• epilepsy
• ovarian dysfunctions
• antiepileptic therapy