Hormonal Changes in Women with Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a prevalent neurological disorder among women globally, often requiring long-term treatment. Hormonal fluctuations in women with epilepsy (WWE) can have reciprocal effects on epilepsy and antiseizure medications (ASMs), posing significant challenges for WWE. Notably, WWE commonly experience endocrine alterations such as thyroid dysfunctions, low bone metabolism, and reproductive hormone irregularities. On the one hand, the presence of hormones in women with epilepsy affects their susceptibility to epilepsy as well as the metabolism of antiseizure medications in various ways. On the other hand, epilepsy itself and the use of antiseizure medications impact the production, secretion, and metabolism of hormones, resulting in low fertility, increased risk of pregnancy complications, negative offspring outcomes, and so on. In order to develop more precise treatment strategies in the future, it is necessary to comprehend the explicit relationships between hormones, epilepsy, and antiseizure medications, as well as to elucidate the currently known mechanisms underlying these interactions.