Effects of carbamazepine on serum leptin, insulin levels and oxidative stress in epileptic patients

Objectives: To assess the effect of carbamazepine (CBZ) monotherapy in male adult epileptic patients on serum leptin, insulin levels, body mass index and oxidative stress represented by serum malondialdehyde (MDA) in comparison to healthy controls. Patients and methods: To achieve the aims of the current study, a case-control study design was adopted. A total of 38 male adult patients with primary generalized epilepsy, on continuous CBZ monotherapy, for at least six months before participation in the study, were collected over the period from Sept. 2010 to Jan. 2011. Forty apparently healthy male volunteers without previous history of epilepsy were recruited as controls. Fasting blood samples were taken and sera were separated and used to measure serum levels of leptin and insulin, and MDA. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the squared height in meters. Results: The results of this study revealed that there was insignificant difference in BMI, serum leptin and insulin between male epileptic adult patients and their matched control subjects. The results also revealed that male epileptic adult patients had a significantly higher (p<0.001) serum MDA compared to their matched control subjects. Conclusion: Carbamazepine is a relatively low risky antiepileptic drug (AED) in terms of obesity, while it can cause oxidative stress as reflected by an elevated serum MDA in comparison to controls.