Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs on the Carotid Artery Intima-Media Thickness in Epileptic Patients.

ABSTRACT:

Background and purpose

It has been reported that taking antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may increase the risk of atherosclerosis. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the carotid artery intima-media thickness (CA-IMT) as a surrogate factor for atherosclerosis in epileptic patients.

Methods

We searched NCBI (PubMed), ISI Web of Knowledge, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library databases for studies of the association between AEDs and CA-IMT in epileptic patients. A random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool results across studies.

Results

Fifteen studies involving 1,775 epileptic patients were included in the analysis. The overall CA-IMT was significantly larger among users of AEDs [mean difference (MD)=0.09 mm, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.06-0.12 mm). When stratified b

SUBMITTER: Lai Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5653625 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature