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Influence of solar irradiation on vitamin D levels in children on anticonvulsant drugs
Author(s) -
Riancho J. A.,
Arco C. del,
Arteaga R.,
Herranz J. L.,
Albajar M.,
Macias J. G.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1989.tb03788.x
Subject(s) - vitamin d and neurology , anticonvulsant , sunlight , medicine , ambulatory , epilepsy , vitamin , vitamin d deficiency , physiology , endocrinology , physics , astronomy , psychiatry
— Previous studies about the serum levels of vitamin D metabolites in epileptic patients have given conflicting results. We have investigated the influence of chronic anti‐epileptic treatment on mineral metabolism in 17 ambulatory epileptic children who were studied for 2 seasons with high and low levels of solar radiation, respectively. No differences in serum calcium, phosphate or 1.25‐dihydroxyvitamin D were observed between patients and control children. Patients also had normal levels of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in summer. However, serum 25(OH)D concentrations were lower in patients than in controls in winter months (12.6 ± 1.4 versus 19.6 ± 1.2 ng/ml, P < 0.001). These findings point out the influence of the intensity of solar irradiation, and subsequently of vitamin D availability, on the effect of anticonvulsant drugs on vitamin D metabolism, and may help to explain the conflicting results of previous reports. Prophylactic vitamin D therapy should be considered when climatic conditions or patients’ life styles do not allow an adequate exposure to sunlight.