title: Sexual dysfunction, sex steroid hormone abnormalities, and depression in women with epilepsy treated with antiepileptic drugs.
abstract: Women with epilepsy are believed to be at risk for sexual dysfunction. Disorders of sexual desire and sexual arousal, including dyspareunia, vaginismus, and lack of lubrication, affect an estimated 30 to 60% of women with epilepsy. In this study, 57 reproductive-aged women with either localization related (LRE) or primary generalized epilepsy (PGE) on antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapy and 17 nonepileptic controls completed questionnaires examining sexual experience, arousability, anxiety, and symptoms, as well as an inventory of depression. An endocrine assessment was performed during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Sexual dysfunction was more common in women with LRE, in women receiving phenytoin, in women with low levels of estradiol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and in women with self-reported symptoms of mild depression. The mechanisms of sexual dysfunction in women with epilepsy are multifactorial, but AED choice appears to be one cause that is modifiable.
authors.affiliation: The Neurological Institute, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. mmorrell@neuropace.com
authors.forename: Martha J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Morrell
authors.forename: Kerry L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Flynn
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doñe
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flaster
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kalayjian
authors.forename: Alison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Pack
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003710:Demography; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology*; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones