RUŞEN DÜNDARÖZ, HALİL İBRAHİM AYDIN, TAYFUN GÜNGÖR, FAYSAL GÖK, METİN DENLİ, VOLKAN BALTACI
Kocatepe Tıp Dergisi - 2001;2(1):87-93
Pregnancy is one of the most difficult problems to be solved in epileptic female patients. The main concern with antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) during pregnancy is the Teratogenicity. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is one of the most frequently prescribed AEDs. Its potential toxic effects on DNA have been investigated by various tests, but the results were contradictory. To clarify this toxicity, comet assay was performed in peripheral lymphocytes of 32 epileptic women treated with CBZ monotherapy for at least one year. This was performed with a control group that included 16 and non-drug using healthy females. The damaged (limited and extensive, migrated) cells in patients' group were significantly higher than that of the control group (p < 0,05) indicating a detectable DNA damaging effect of CBZ monotherapy on human lymphocytes. The comet scores in patients who have a mean blood CBZ level of >8 mcg/ml were higher than those of the patients who have less than <8 mcg/ml; however, this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0,05). No significant correlation was noted between the duration of the therapy and the comet scores either (p > 0,05). We suggest that CBZ have mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic effect and this effect may increase with high therapeutic levels and begins within the first year of the treatment.
