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Updated: Apr 26, 2026
Scanning Skeletal Remains for Bone Mineral Density in Forensic Contexts
Published on: January 29, 2018
Bone mineral density in ambulatory children with epilepsy
Omid Yaghini1, Seyed Hasan Tonekaboni, Seyed Mohammad Amir Shahkarami
1Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Objective:
To elucidate the effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on bone health status of ambulatory epileptic children.
Methods:
A total of 120 epileptic children aged 2-15 y were enrolled in three groups. The first group was on therapy with carbamazepine, phenobarbital or primidone. The second was treated with valproic acid and the third group was untreated. Serum calcium, phosphorous, total alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone levels were compared between groups. Bone mineral density tests were also performed at four sites of the lumbar spine and three sites of femoral neck and results were compared between the groups.
Results:
Of all enrolled subjects, 67 patients (55.8 %) were vitamin D deficient. The three groups were not significantly different in terms of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, total alkaline phosphatase, and parathyroid hormone levels. While patients in first group had lower Z-score of femoral neck and lumbar spine compared to those on valproic acid, these values were also significantly different than that of the third group.
Conclusions:
It can be concluded that both enzyme-inducing AEDs and non enzyme-inducing AEDs decrease bone mineral density (BMD). Also alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is affected in ambulatory epileptic children on enzyme-inducing AEDs. Nevertheless, valproic acid (a non-enzyme-inducing agent) does not have the mentioned side effects.
