Epilepsy and hormones: A critical review

Especially during, growth, puberty, and menopause, profound changes including maturation Of the growth hormone, sex steroid, and thyroid axes, as well as alterations in lipid homeostasis, cardiac integrity, and other enzyme systems, occur physiologically. Willi epilepsy, however, things ate often changing, and there may be a complicated interplay between hormones. epilepsy, and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). On the one hand, epilepsy itself possibly elicits diverse effects Oil different enzyme systems including sex steroids, the neuro-cardio-endocrine axis, and hone health. Oil the other hand. different AEDs are known to induce neuroendocrine changes (e.g., lipid metabolism) that may have deleterious consequences Oil health and well-being later in lite. It is important for physicians and epileptologists to have in mind and to consider the endocrine effects induced by epilepsy itself or by a certain AED when starting antiepileptic therapy, especially when it is expected that long-term treatment will he necessary. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.