Background: Obesity being a common medical problem due to its
complications such as atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus etc., a number of
studies were directed towards its causes. Among these causes is drug intake
e.g. some antiepileptic drugs, oral contraceptive pills and others. Accordingly
the present study is focused on weight gain observed with antiepileptic drugs
and its relation to leptin and insulin hormones. Objective: The aim of this work is to study the role played by leptin &
insulin hormones in weight gain induced by antiepileptic drugs. Subjects & Methods: This study was carried out
on 40 epileptic patients, and 19 healthy subjects, where leptin, insulin
levels, BMI and lipid profile were measured in both groups. Results: There was high statistically significant difference
in insulin & leptin hormones between cases & controls as well as a
statistically significant difference in leptin levels between valproate &
carbamazepine subgroups being higher in valproate treated patients. Conclusion: The increased serum leptin levels was not associated
with increased body weight in epileptic patients as assessed by BMI but was
more influenced by anti-epileptic drug intake, especially valproate. [Egypt J Neurol Psychiat
Neurosurg. 2011; 48(4): 351-357]
Key Words: Obesity –
Epilepsy – Insulin - Leptin hormones - Lipids.
Correspondence to Manal
S. Fahmy, Department of Neurology, Cairo University, Egypt.
Tel.: +20107000544. E-mail: manal.s.fahmy@gmail.com.