COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF SOME ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS ON LIPID PROFILE AND CAROTID INTIMA THICKNESS IN A SAMPLE OF EGYPTIAN CHILDREN: A ONE YEAR PROSPECTIVE STUDY.

Introduction:- This study aimed at detection of association between antiepileptic drugs and atherosclerosis in a sample of Egyptian children through evaluating lipid levels and carotid artery intima media thickness (CA-IMT). Patients and methods:- 90 newly diagnosed epileptic children were administered a monotherapy with either carbamazepine (CBZ), valproate (VPA) or levetiracetam (LEV), from January 2014 to May 2015. 84 patients continued the study to the end. All subjects were clinically evaluated and followed up for 1 year. Basal and terminal (after 1 year) lipid profile and CA-IMT were assessed by biochemical and ultrasonography, respectively. Results:- Although all drug groups didn’t demonstrate any significant difference in the basal levels of lipid profile, CBZ and VPA drugs induced higher levels of TC, LDL, TG and lower levels of HDL compared to LEV after 1 year of treatment. Concomitantly, CBZ and VPA increased CA-IMT thickness more than LEV, but this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion:- LEV didn’t perturb lipid profile and CA-IMT, whereas CBZ and VPA induced significantly higher levels of dyslipidemia and non-significant increased CA-IMT in children after one year of treatment.