No abstract

The results of the present study indicate that adiposity and insulin resistance have an important role in influencing blood pressure in obese children, and also show a high prevalence of non-dipping phenomenon. This is of particular relevance because blood pressure tracks from childhood into adulthood and an already early-life high blood pressure is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.

The relationship between epilepsy and endocrine system has attracted the attention of investigators for a number of years. Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder; both seizures and antiepileptic drugs can compromise the physical and hormonal aspects of sexual development. Impairment of libido and sexual potency have been frequently reported in male epileptic patients. Women with epilepsy have a greater risk of infertility (anovulatory cycles and polycystic ovary syndrome). This review analyses the main data from the literature in order to clarify the role of epilepsy and antiepileptic drugs on sex hormones in epileptic patients. As gonad dysfunction is frequently observed in women and men with epilepsy, particularly when taking antiepileptic drugs, ovarian and testicular function must be carefully monitored.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder commonly seen in pediatric age. A large number of anti epileptic Drugs are now available for the treatment of this disease; although many of these drugs have good efficacy in the treatment of both partial and generalized epilepsies, their use can be associated with various endocrinological side effects. During treatment are commonly observed changes in serum levels of many hormones, such as insulin, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, corticotrophin and the main sexual hormones. Therefore, in epileptic patients treated with antiepileptic, it is common to observe a number of clinical problems like abnormalities in pubertal development, weight gain, gonad dysfunction, hypothyroidism, etc.Both seizures and drugs could compromise hormonal balance in epileptic patients, but it is not yet clear to distinguish their effects.The aim of this review is to focus on the main endocrinological abnormalities induced by antiepileptic drugs, in order to achieve a critical analysis of the recent researches on this topic and to offer practical advice for a better care of epileptic children.