Testosterone levels in adult male epileptic patients

Total and free testosterone levels were assayed in 80 epileptic outpatients. The levels were in the low-normal range, and there was no dissociation between free and total levels observable in this sample. No relationships to clinical epilepsy parameters or anticonvulsant levels were found, but significant inverse relationships existed with age and the number of different anticonvulsant medications a patient was taking. The age effect was independent of the medication contribution and raises the question of premature aging of the sexual system in patients with epilepsy. Whether or not this is part of a more general premature decrease in the functions of the pituitary hypothalamic axis needs to be investigated.