Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0036572 (seizures)
 80,221 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ten women with a documented history of catamenial epilepsy underwent a hormonal study to evaluate hypophyseal-gonadal function. Baseline values of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone and prolactin were similar in catamenial seizure patients and in control groups throughout a complete menstrual cycle. Stimulated secretions of the same hypophyseal hormones in catamenial seizure patients overlapped those of the controls. The luteal secretion ratio of progesterone to estradiol was significantly reduced in catamenial seizure patients versus normal controls. In a subgroup of catamenial seizure patients on antiepileptic therapy, luteal progesterone levels were remarkably decreased compared to normal and epileptic controls. These results indicate that catamenial epilepsy is characterized by an imbalance in ovarian steroid secretion and emphasize the need for an endocrinological assessment in these patients.
 ...
PMID:Unbalanced progesterone and estradiol secretion in catamenial epilepsy. 265 Nov 13

Postictal serum prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone were assessed in 22 epileptic patients with partial seizures. On the basis of their past history they were divided into those with (Group A) and those without (Group B) psychopathology. The results show more significant changes from baseline in Group B. These data suggest that psychopathology may be associated with partial seizures in those patients where spread of seizure activity through limbic system to the diencephalon preferentially occurs.
 ...
PMID:Prolactin and gonadotrophin changes following partial seizures in epileptic patients with and without psychopathology. 642 31

Testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and prolactin (PRL) levels were obtained in 33 male epileptic patients and 11 age-matched normal controls. The patients had significantly higher mean levels of FSH, LH, and PRL; T was decreased but not significantly so. Patients who had reported difficulties with sexual arousal on the Bear-Fedio Inventory had significantly lower T levels than those who did not. Increased LH levels correlated with younger age at onset of epilepsy and longer history of tonic clonic seizures. Increased PRL levels were related to a positive family history of epilepsy and nonfocal tonic clonic seizures. Anticonvulsant levels were unrelated to hormonal changes except for carbamazepine which was positively correlated with PRL levels.
 ...
PMID:Investigation of sex hormones in male epileptic patients. 643 51

A 32-year-old woman had seizures and coma due to severe hypoglycemia (26 mg/dL) in the 32nd week of an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy. She responded dramatically to the administration of cortisol. Initial endocrine evaluation disclosed prolactin (PRL), corticotropin, and thyrotropin (TSH) deficiencies. The patient recovered completely with cortisol and thyroid hormone therapy and was delivered of a healthy male child at term. Endocrine reevaluations one week and six months postpartum disclosed luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, growth hormone, PRL, corticotropin, and probable TSH deficiencies. The cause of this panhypopituitarism has not been determined. This case suggests that the appropriate initial treatment for spontaneous symptomatic hypoglycemia in pregnancy, while awaiting further endocrine evaluation, is the administration of cortisol.
 ...
PMID:Spontaneous hypoglycemic seizures in pregnancy. A manifestation of panhypopituitarism. 669 58

In 9 normal volunteers, we studied the safety of rapid-rate transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied to different scalp positions at various frequencies and intensities. Pure tone threshold audiometry showed temporary threshold shifts in 3 subjects. In the subject stimulated at the highest intensity, rTMS induced a focal, secondarily generalized seizure despite the absence of definite risk factors for seizures. Rapid-rate TMS did not result in any important changes in the neurological examination findings, cognitive performance, electroencephalogram, electrocardiogram, and hormone levels (prolactin, adrenocorticotropic hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone). In 10 additional subjects, the electromyographic activity in several contralateral muscles showed that trains of rTMS applied to the motor cortex induced a spread of cortical excitability. The spread of excitability depended on the intensity and frequency of the stimuli and probably constituted an early epileptogenic effect of rTMS. Guidelines for preventing the undesirable side effects of rTMS are offered.
 ...
PMID:Safety of rapid-rate transcranial magnetic stimulation in normal volunteers. 768 2

We studied a 6-year-old girl who presented with inappropriate and uncontrollable laughing episodes since age 3. Physical examination revealed a precocious puberty. The luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) stimulation test showed an increased level of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). The interictal electroencephalogram (EEG) was normal. Several laughing fits were documented during video/EEG monitoring. During laughing, the ictal EEG showed a diffuse suppression of background rhythm, prominent over the left mesial temporal region. A mass lesion about 2 x 2 cm in size was found over the suprasellar cistern with a broad base attached to the hypothalamus, which was isodense on a computed tomography (CT) scan, isointense to gray matter on T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and hyperintense on T2-weighted MR imaging. The findings were suggestive of a hypothalamic hamartoma. A variety of anticonvulsants had been used with little or no response to the frequency or duration of the laughing seizures.
 ...
PMID:Hypothalamic hamartoma and gelastic epilepsy: a case report. 771

Male patients receiving antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) have often complained of hyposexuality. Few studies have been done on semen analysis, which is relevant for assessment of potential and possible reproductive outcome in such cases. We evaluated the effect of epilepsy itself and/or phenytoin (PHT) on the male reproductive system. Fifty-five patients with epilepsy (42 with PHT and 13 untreated) and 28 healthy normal controls were studied by semen analysis. Serum samples from 21 of the 55 patients were also analyzed for testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone. Results showed lower volume of seminal fluid, spermatozoa concentration, and total sperm count in untreated and PHT-treated patients as compared with controls, although no difference was evident between the patient groups. Morphologically abnormal sperm were more increased in untreated patients than in PHT treated and control subjects. Hormonal analysis showed lower levels of testosterone in 9 patients. LH levels were increased in one third of the patients. Our results suggests an effect of seizures on the male reproductive system, and PHT may have a slight additive (if any) influence.
 ...
PMID:Effect of phenytoin on semen. 811 36

Valproic acid is effective for treatment of many types of epilepsy, but its use in epileptic patients can be associated with an increase in body weight that could interfere with treatment compliance. The weight gain may result from different mechanisms, but the exact pathogenesis is still unknown. To evaluate insulin sensitivity in adolescents who gained weight during treatment with valproic acid, we studied 20 girls with different types of epilepsy: 15 patients had primary generalized seizures, including absence seizures (3 cases), and 5 patients had partial seizures. After 1 year of valproic acid treatment, the obese patients had serum insulin levels significantly higher than patients who did not gain weight (51.4 +/- 25.3 versus 28.2 +/- 12.9). Moreover, we observed that epileptic patients who gained weight were also insulin resistant in comparison with nonobese epileptic subjects. At the end of treatment, all patients showed normal levels of serum testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone. We found no significant correlation between insulinemia and serum valproic acid concentrations in obese and nonobese patients treated with valproic acid. Our study demonstrates that basal hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance can be present in patients who develop obesity during valproic acid treatment. Therefore, these obese patients could be exposed to the risks related to these metabolic abnormalities; if these data are confirmed in longer studies, these side effects may raise some concerns about the safety of valproic acid.
 ...
PMID:Insulin resistance in epileptic girls who gain weight after therapy with valproic acid. 1276 Apr 38

The effect of testosterone on brain excitability is unclear. The excitatory aspect of testosterone's action in the brain may be due to its conversion to estrogen via aromatase. We report herein a 61-year-old man with temporal lobe epilepsy and sexual dysfunction due to low testosterone levels. Use of an aromatase inhibitor, letrozole, normalized his testosterone level and improved his sexual functioning. Letrozole, in addition to standard antiseizure medication, was also associated with improved seizure control. This was sustained and, further, was associated with seizure exacerbation after withdrawing letrozole, and subsequent seizure improvement after restarting it. During the course of treatment, his serum testosterone level increased, sex hormone-binding globulin decreased (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels increased, while serum estradiol levels remained undetectable. Letrozole may, therefore, have produced a central alteration in the testosterone/estrogen ratio, thereby impairing estrogen-mediated feedback control of the pituitary, resulting in the observed increase in circulating LH and FSH levels. This experience suggests that aromatase inhibitors should be further investigated as a beneficial treatment modality for male patients with epilepsy.
 ...
PMID:Aromatase inhibition, testosterone, and seizures. 1512 30

The function of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HPA), including the production of luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, gonadotropin-releasing hormone, and prolactin, and the concentrations and metabolism of its end products, such as estrogen, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone, appear to be modified in many people with epilepsy. Effects of the disorder itself and effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) both appear to contribute to these hormonal alterations, which may be associated with sexual dysfunction. Focal epileptic discharges from the temporal lobe may affect HPA function, as is suggested by the normalization of androgen levels seen in men with temporal lobe epilepsy who become seizure-free after surgery. Hepatic enzyme-inducing AEDs such as carbamazepine and phenytoin may be most clearly linked to altered metabolism of sex steroid hormones, but valproic acid, an enzyme inhibitor, has also been implicated in the causation of reproductive endocrine abnormalities. Polycystic ovaries and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are widely believed to be common in women with epilepsy, but the actual prevalence and the pathogenesis of PCOS in this population are disputed. Hormonal changes and sexual dysfunction need to be addressed in any comprehensive approach to epilepsy management, as well as any comprehensive epilepsy research program. Avoidance of enzyme-inducing AEDs and achievement of freedom from seizures as the goal of treatment are strongly recommended.
 ...
PMID:Human sexuality, sex hormones, and epilepsy. 1624 1


1 2 Next >>