[Post-vaccination measles immunity in children on long-term anticonvulsant therapy]

In the prospective study, seroconversion and duration of immunity were examined by studying children on the longterm anticonvulsant treatment 5 years after application of monovaccine against the Edmonston-Zagreb measles. The patient group was composed of 35 children with epilepsy and the control group consisted of 65 children without epilepsy. Average age was 7.5 years for both groups. The examinees were mainly treated with monotherapy, most usually with phenobarbitone, carbamazepine and valproate. Good control of seizures was achieved in all children. Seroconversion was tested 6 weeks following vaccination in all examined children. The levels of titres of hemagglutination inhibiting (HI) antibodies did not differ significantly between examined children and controls (chi 2 = 2.588 p > 0.05). Nor did the correlation exist between the length of antiepileptic drug administration and the level of antibody titres (chi 2 = 0.75 p < 0.05). Five years after the vaccination, the level of titres of HI antibodies in epileptic patients and controls showed no statistically significant difference (chi 2 = 2.42 p < 0.05). There was also no correlation between the duration of receiving anticonvulsants and duration of immunity (chi 2 = 0.25 p < 0.05). The children with good control of seizures can be revaccinated, as well as the healthy children, 5 years after the primary vaccination.