Homocysteine levels in epileptic children receiving antiepileptic drugs

The aim of this study is to investigate the homocysteine, folic acid, and vitamin B-12 levels in epileptic children receiving antiepileptic drugs. A total of 25 children with idiopathic epilepsy (8 valproate, 11 carbamazepine, and 6 oxcarbazepine) and 10 healthy children were included in the study. The mean homocysteine, folic acid, and vitamin B-12 levels in the study group were 7.57 +/- 3.78 mu mol/L (normal = 5-15 mu mol/L), 10.19 +/- 4.05 ng/mL (normal = 3.0-17 ng/mL), and 428.20 +/- 256.12 pg/mL (normal = 193-983 pg/mL), respectively. The differences between the mean plasma homocysteine, folic acid, and vitamin B-12 levels of the study and control groups were not significant (P=.522; P=.855; P=.798, respectively). However, plasma homocysteine levels were higher than the normal cutoff point accepted for childhood in 4 (16%) of the study patients. Out of these 4 children, 3 were from the carbamazepine group and 1 was from the valproate group. Although the number of the study patients is limited, the authors recommend assessment of plasma homocysteine, serum vitamin B-12, and folic acid levels in children receiving enzyme-inducing antiepileptic drugs