Study of the side effects of long-term anticonvulsant treatment.

In the present survey, we investigated the side effects of anticonvulsants in 248 epileptics who had been taking medicine for a long time. About half of the patients had been given anticonvulsant treatment for more than 11 years. The main results were as follows: Subjective symptoms: many kinds of gastrointestinal symptoms, general fatigability and sleepiness. slight pain in bones, joints or muscles and headache were found. Neurological symptoms: finger tremor at rest, diminished or decreased ankle reflex, and cerebellar symptoms such as ataxic gait, dysarthria, nystagmus and diplopia were found. Other clinical symptoms: gingival hyperplasia, hirsutism, dermatitis and edema were observed. Biochemical examinations: indicated that the total bilirubin was decreased in 4.4%, serum AL-P was elevated in 26.2%, the total serum cholesterol increased above 200 mg/dl in 17.7% and decreased below 150 mg/dl in 8.9%, and serum P and K were reduced in 31.5% and 2.4%, respectively. Hypocalcemia was found in only four cases (1.6%). Hematological examinations: serious disturbances were not found in hematopoietic functions, although prothrombin time was delayed in 18 of 40 patients examined.