Sex hormones influence on epilepsy in young men

Abstract

Background. Hormonal changes in epilepsy have been studied mainly in women. Сhanges in sex hormones in men have hardly been studied, despite the possible significant impact of epilepsy on the hormonal spectrum in general and on sex hormones in particular. Hormonal dysfunction is also a known factor in worsening the clinical course of epilepsy. The purpose of this study was to investigate sex hormones in young male patients with epilepsy depending on the age of epilepsy onset, clinical course of the disease, type of seizures and form of epilepsy. The content of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, prolactin was studied. Materials and methods. The study involved 80 male patients aged 18–44 (mean of 32.73 ± 7.23) years with epilepsy who were classified as young adults according to the WHO classification. The sample was random. All participants provided informed consent to participate in the study voluntarily. All patients with epilepsy were divided into three groups. The first group consisted of patients with age of epilepsy onset under 13. The second group included patients whose epilepsy onset occurred during puberty (13–17 years). The third group consisted of patients with epilepsy onset at the age of 18 years and older. All patients had a history of epilepsy for at least 1 year. The studies were carried out on the basis of clinical symptoms and instrumental data analysis. The hormonal status of the subjects was studied by determining serum level of sex hormones. Results. General trends were found in all patients with epilepsy: increased estradiol, decreased prolactin, and decreased testosterone. The degree of hormonal imbalance in patients with epilepsy depended on the age of epilepsy onset (prepuberty, puberty, post-puberty), the type of seizures and the clinical course of epilepsy. The present study established the relationship between the level of steroid hormones in young men and the age of epilepsy onset. It also examined the relationship between steroid hormone levels and the form of epilepsy, the type of epileptic seizures and their frequency. Conclusions. In men aged 20–44 years who are classified as young subjects by the WHO, epilepsy is accompanied by an imbalance in sex hormone. The nature of the hormonal imbalance depends on the age of epilepsy onset, although in all age subgroups, there was a tendency toward an increase in estradiol, a decrease in progestin and testosterone. Hormonal imbalance in men with epilepsy may be evidence that sex hormones are involved in the development of epileptogenesis in young age.