Effects of Carbamazepine and Sodium Valproate Therapy on Atherosclerosis-Related Biomarkers in Male Epilepsy Patients: A Case-Control Study

AbstractThe study aimed to evaluate the effect of long-term use of carbamazepine and sodium valproate as risk factors for atherosclerosis in epilepsy patients. Sixty serum samples of male were taken from patients with epilepsy using carbamazepine and sodium as a treatment for the disease, and 30 serum samples were taken from healthy individuals as the control group for the peroid from November 22, 2022, to January 1, 2023. The patient group was collected from various regions in Salah Al-Din Governorate and from the Dr. Saad Al-Wetri Hospital for Neurosciences in Baghdad.The study includes determining the concentrations of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), Malondialdehyde -MDA, and peroxynitrite.The study found that the levels of FGF21, TG, VLDL, MDA, and peroxynitrite were significantly higher in the patient group compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference between the patient and control groups regarding BMI, TC, LDL-C, or HDL-C levels.From all the results, we can conclude that the drugs may have an important effect on the level of FGF21 and antioxidant state in patients with epilepsy due to the role of these medications in metabolic pathway regulation or may affect the progression of the disease.