The effects of antiepileptic drugs on vascular risk factors: A narrative review

Nutritional status and metabolic profile in neurologically impaired pediatric surgical patients

BACKGROUND

Malnutrition is reported in pediatric neuromotor disability and impacts the child's health. We described the nutritional and metabolic status in neurologically impaired (NI) children undergoing surgery.

METHODS

Anthropometry, body composition, hormonal and nutritional evaluations were performed in 44 NI subjects (13.7±8.0 years). Energy needs were calculated by Krick's formula. Metabolic syndrome (MS) was defined applying the following criteria (≥3 defined MS): fasting blood glucose >100 mg/dL and/or homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) >97.5th percentile, trygliceride level >95th percentile, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol level <5th percentile, systolic/diastolic pressure >95th percentile; whilebody mass index - standard deviation score (BMI-SDS) <2 and biochemical malnutrition markers (≥2) defined undernutrition.

RESULTS

Energy intake was not adequate in 73.8% of the patients; no correlation between energy intake and BMI was noted. Undernutrition was noted in 34.1% of patients and MS in 11.36% of subjects. Fifty percent of the patients presented with insulin resistance, which was not related to BMI, body composition or other MS components.

CONCLUSIONS

Nutritional and metabolic monitoring of disabled children and young adults is recommended to prevent adverse outcomes associated with malnutrition.

Decrease in mortality of adult epilepsy patients since 1980: lessons learned from a hospital-based cohort

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Data on mortality in patients with epilepsy have been available since the 1800s. They consistently show a 2-3-fold increase compared to the general population. Despite major advances in diagnostic tools and treatment options, there is no evidence for a decrease in premature deaths. The temporal trend of mortality in a hospital-based epilepsy cohort over three decades was assessed.

METHODS

A hospital-based incidence cohort was recruited from a specialized epilepsy outpatient clinic at Innsbruck Medical University between 1980 and 2007, divided by decade into three cohorts and followed for 5 years after initial epilepsy diagnosis. Deaths and their primary causes were determined using probabilistic record linkage with the Austrian death registry. Age-, sex- and period-adjusted standardized mortality rates (SMRs) were computed in relation to the general population of the same area and grouped according to time of diagnosis.

RESULTS

In all, 122 deaths in 4549.9 person-years (1954.5 women, 2595.2 men) were identified. The overall SMR was 2.2 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.8-2.6] and decreased from 3.0 (95% CI 2.1-4.3) in 1980-1989, to 2.7 (95% CI 2.0-3.5) in 1990-1999 and to 1.4 (95% CI 1.0-2.0) in 2000-2007.

CONCLUSIONS

This study indicates a decrease in mortality in newly diagnosed epilepsy patients over the last three decades. This may be due to advances in diagnosis and treatment over the past three decades, including early identification of drug resistance, introduction of new anti-epileptic drugs and establishment of a comprehensive epilepsy surgery programme in this region.

Impact of age on cerebrovascular dilation versus reactivity to hypercapnia

This study quantified the effect of age on cerebrovascular reactivity and cerebrovascular conductance while accounting for differences in grey matter volume in younger (YA: n = 12; 24 ± 4 years, six females) and older adults (OA: n = 10; 66 ± 7 years; five females). Cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV; transcranial Doppler) in the middle cerebral artery (MCA), MCA cross-sectional area (CSA), intracranial volumes (magnetic resonance imaging), and mean arterial pressure (MAP; Finometer), were measured under normocapnic and hypercapnic (6% carbon dioxide) conditions. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was quantified from CBFV and MCA CSA and normalized to grey matter volume. Grey matter volume was 719 ± 98 mL in YA and 622 ± 50 mL in OA (P = 0.009). Cerebrovascular reactivity (%ΔCBF/ΔP_ETCO₂) was not different between YA and OA. In contrast, cerebrovascular conductance (CBF/MAP) in response to hypercapnia was reduced in OA (P = 0.02). Of note, MAP increased more with hypercapnia in OA compared with YA. Therefore, the central hemodynamic response to hypercapnia compensated for a diminished dilatory response downstream from the MCA so that the CBF response to hypercapnia per unit of brain mass was not affected by age. This impairment was not detected by traditional measures of cerebrovascular reactivity.

The heart of epilepsy: Current views and future concepts

Cardiovascular (CV) comorbidities are common in people with epilepsy. Several mechanisms explain why these conditions tend to co-exist including causal associations, shared risk factors and those resulting from epilepsy or its treatment. Various arrhythmias occurring during and after seizures have been described. Ictal asystole is the most common cause. The converse phenomenon, arrhythmias causing seizures, appears extremely rare and has only been reported in children following cardioinihibitory syncope. Arrhythmias in epilepsy may not only result from seizure activity but also from a shared genetic susceptibility. Various cardiac and epilepsy genes could be implicated but firm evidence is still lacking. Several antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) triggering conduction abnormalities can also explain the co-existence of arrhythmias in epilepsy. Epidemiological studies have consistently shown that people with epilepsy have a higher prevalence of structural cardiac disease and a poorer CV risk profile than those without epilepsy. Shared CV risk factors, genetics and etiological factors can account for a significant part of the relationship between epilepsy and structural cardiac disease. Seizure activity may cause transient myocardial ischaemia and the Takotsubo syndrome. Additionally, certain AEDs may themselves negatively affect CV risk profile in epilepsy. Here we discuss the fascinating borderland of epilepsy and cardiovascular conditions. The review focuses on epidemiology, clinical presentations and possible mechanisms for shared pathophysiology. It concludes with a discussion of future developments and a call for validated screening instruments and guidelines aiding the early identification and treatment of CV comorbidity in epilepsy.

Poststroke epilepsy: update and future directions

Stroke is among the most common causes of epilepsy after middle age. Patients with poststroke epilepsy (PSE) differ in several respects from patients with other forms of structural-metabolic epilepsy; not least in age, age-related sensitivity to side effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and specific drug-drug interaction issues related to secondary-stroke prophylaxis. Encouragingly, there has lately been remarkable activity in the study of PSE. Three developments in PSE research deserve particular focus. First, large prospective trials have established the incidence and risk factors of PSE in the setting of modern stroke care. Stroke severity, cortical location, young age, and haemorrhage remain the most important risk factors. Second, although more studies are needed, epidemiological data indicate that the risk of PSE may be influenced, for instance, by statin treatment. Third, studies are emerging regarding the treatment and prognosis of PSE. Levetiracetam and lamotrigine may be well tolerated treatment options and seizure freedom is achieved in at least a similar proportion of patients as in other epilepsies. Furthermore, new animal models such as photothrombotic stroke gives hope of a more clear understanding of PSE epileptogenesis in the near future. In summary, PSE shows indications of maturing into an independent epilepsy research field. This review summarizes recent advances in our understanding of PSE and provides an update on management issues such as diagnosis, AED selection, and prognosis. Finally, future research challenges in the field are outlined.

Metabolic syndrome and anticonvulsants: A comparative study of valproic acid and carbamazepine

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to compare the risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) and evaluate related factors for MS among people with epilepsy treated with valproate (VPA) or carbamazepine (CBZ).

METHODS

A total of 213 adult patients with epilepsy treated with VPA (n=118) or CBZ (n=95) monotherapy were included in the study. Participants were evaluated for the presence of MS, diagnosed according to the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria.

RESULTS

In the multiple logistic regression analysis, the risk of MS in CBZ- and VPA-treated patients was similar (odds ratio [OR]=0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.43-2.26; P=0.979). A lower proportion of CBZ-treated patients had abnormally low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (OR=0.10; 95% CI, 0.02-0.42; P=0.002), whereas a lower proportion of VPA-treated patients had abnormally high concentrations of fasting blood glucose (OR=0.30; 95% CI, 0.13-0.69; P=0.004). Females treated with VPA tended to have a higher risk of MS (OR=1.48; 95% CI, 0.50-4.41; P=0.485) compared to males (OR=0.74; 95% CI, 0.28-1.96; P=0.551), although this difference was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Although the overall risk of MS was similar in patients with epilepsy who were treated with VPA or CBZ, the distribution of MS components differed between treatment groups. Patients treated with CBZ or VPA less frequently had decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels or increased blood glucose concentrations, respectively. Females on VPA treatment could be at higher risk of MS than males.

Cardiac functions of voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels: role of the pharmacoresistant type (E-/R-Type) in cardiac modulation and putative implication in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP)

Voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (VGCCs) are ubiquitous in excitable cells. These channels play key roles in many physiological events like cardiac regulation/pacemaker activity due to intracellular Ca(2+) transients. In the myocardium, the Cav1 subfamily (L-type: Cav1.2 and Cav1.3) is the main contributor to excitation-contraction coupling and/or pacemaking, whereas the Cav3 subfamily (T-type: Cav3.1 and Cav3.2) is important in rhythmically firing of the cardiac nodal cells. No established cardiac function has been attributed to the Cav2 family (E-/R-type: Cav2.3) despite accumulating evidence of cardiac dysregulation observed upon deletion of the Cav2.3 gene, the only member of this family so far detected in cardiomyocytes. In this review, we summarize the pathophysiological changes observed after ablation of the E-/R-type VGCC and propose a cardiac mechanism of action for this channel. Also, considering the role played by this channel in epilepsy and its reported sensitivity to antiepileptic drugs, a putative involvement of this channel in the cardiac mechanism of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy is also discussed.