RESUMO
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The adverse effects of newer antiepileptic drugs are not well-known. This study assessed the impact of oxcarbazepine (OXC) treatment on bone turnover. METHODS: Forty-four children with idiopathic focal (and/or secondarily generalized) epilepsy who had been treated with OXC for more than 1 year were compared with 33 healthy, age- and sex-matched children. Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, osteocalcin, calcitonin, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and bone mineral density were measured to evaluate and compare bone mineralization between the two groups. RESULTS: The serum levels of calcium, osteocalcin, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and bone mineral density did not differ significantly between the study and control groups. However, serum levels of parathyroid hormone, alkaline phosphatase, phosphorus, and calcitonin differed significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that OXC treatment leads to secondary hyperparathyroidism with high-turnover bone disease and/or impaired intestinal calcium absorption.
RESUMO
Methotrexate is a folate antagonist that is commonly used as an antitumor and antiarthritic drug. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible roles of exogenous glutamine (Glu), arginine (Arg) and proanthocyanidin (PA) on gut protection from methotrexate-induced intestinal damage in rats. Experimental rats were separated into eight groups. The first (sham) group received a 0.9% NaCl solution alone. The second group received intraperitoneal injections of methotrexate (20 mg/kg/day) administered on day 4 of the experiment and continued for 5 days. Rats in the other six groups were administered PA, Glu, Arg, Glu+PA, Arg+PA or Glu+Arg orally by gavage together with methotrexate and animals were sacrificed on day 8 of the experiment. All animals were sacrificed 4 days after methotrexate injection for histopathological analysis, tissue glutathione peroxidase, malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase assays. Proanthocyanidin and Glu decreased the severity of intestinal injury and oxidant injury as evident by histopathology and changes in malondialdehyde levels. Histological analysis confirmed that PA and to a lesser extent Glu supplementation were more favorable than Arg for the protection of the small intestine from methotrexate-induced injury.
