Effects of antiepileptic drugs on evoked potentials in epileptic children

To evaluate the visual and auditory function in children and adolescents wh o are undergoing monotherapy with sodium valproate, carbamazepine, and phen obarbital visual-evoked potentials and brainstem auditory-evoked potentials were measured in 58 epileptic patients (30 males and 28 females), ages 13. 7 +/- 6.9 years, Fifty healthy sex- and age-matched children served as cont rols, The measurements were performed before the beginning of therapy and a fter 12 months. Before the beginning of therapy, there were no significant differences in visual- and auditory-evoked potentials between the control g roup and the three groups of epileptic children. After 12 months of therapy , patients treated with carbamazepine demonstrated a significant (P < 0.001 ) increase of P100 latencies when compared with baseline data and control v alues; moreover, these patients exhibited a significant increase of peak la tencies of waves I-III-V and interpeak interval I-V at auditory second eval uation. The patients treated with sodium valproate manifested a significant (P < 0.05) increase in VEP P100 latencies. On the contrary, children recei ving phenobarbital did not manifest any significant abnormality at visual- and auditory-evoked potentials measurements. Our study demonstrates that fo r patients treated with carbamazepine and sodium valproate, an electrophysi ologic dysfunction of visual and auditory sensory pathways can be present a fter 12 months of treatment. (C) 2000 by Elsevier Science Inc, All rights r eserved.