Increased bone turnover in prepubertal,pubertal, and postpubertal patients receiving carbamazepine

PURPOSE: To study the markers of bone turnover in epilepsy patients in the different stages of the pubertal growth before and after the beginning of carbamazepine (CBZ) monotherapy. METHODS: We have investigated bone turnover in 60 epilepsy patients treated with CBZ. They were stratified according to pubertal stage and compared with a control group of 60 sex- and age-matched healthy children. RESULTS: After 2 years of therapy, we found higher values of the serum markers of bone formation [bone alkaline phosphatase (bone ALP), osteocalcin (OC), carboxy-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (PICP), amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP)], and of bone resorption [carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) and the urinary cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen (NTX)] in patients than in control subjects, in presence of a normal vitamin D metabolism. CONCLUSIONS: CBZ induces an increase of bone formation and of bone resorption that seems to be independent of the pubertal stage.