Antiepileptic drugs may cause changes in women's appearance, skin thickening, skin tissue thickening and nose widening. Nearly13 female patients have hirsutism on the face and sometimes all over the body.
2. Effects on female hormones
Some patients may have menstrual epilepsy, and the frequency of menstrual seizures often increases, because the proportion of estrogen and progesterone is higher at this time. Estrogen can change the structure and function of hippocampal neurons and increase the susceptibility to seizures. The level of estrogen in women is high, and the levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and pregnenolone with neurotoxicity are also high, which can aggravate the symptoms of epilepsy.
3. Decline in fertility rate
After receiving treatment, long-term use of antiepileptic drugs will cause menstrual cycle disorder and sexual dysfunction, which will greatly change the hormone level in women, thus reducing fertility.
4. Trigger polycystic ovary
Polycystic ovary is more common in the general population. Some data show that the incidence of polycystic ovary disease in female epilepsy patients is higher, and the incidence is higher after taking valproic acid. There is also evidence that valproic acid can also increase the risk of anovulatory menstrual cycle, and it is not recommended for women of childbearing age to use valproic acid.
5. Influence on women's psychology
Epilepsy is a chronic brain disease. For epileptic patients, there are generally psychological barriers of different degrees, such as inferiority complex, which may even lead to depression, autism and suicide. In addition, the anxiety of epileptic patients about marriage and childbirth will lead to the fact that the fertility of these epileptic women is lower than that of ordinary women, which will lead epileptic patients to be eager for their future and lose interest in their future life.