Objective: Cerebral blood flow has been blamed as a factor in the negative effect of antiepileptic drugs on neurocognition. This study aimed to investigate whether valproic acid (VPA), used for the treatment of idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), causes a change in cerebral blood flow in children.
Methods: Included in this study were 33 children who were receiving VPA for IGE and 34 age-matched controls. Doppler and spectral measurements in common carotid artery (CCA), left and right internal CA (ICA) and external CA (ECA), anterior cerebral artery (ACA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) were performed and the maximum velocity (VM), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), resistive index (RI), pulsatility index (PI) and flow rate (FR) were calculated.
Results: The mean age of drug and control groups were 9.33 plus or minus 2.11, and 9.74 plus or minus 2 years, respectively. Follow-up of patients was 17.7 plus or minus 3.2 months. The period of VPA treatment was 17.4 plus or minus 3.4 months. No statistically significant differences were found between control and VPA group for the VM, EDV, RI, PI, and FR values obtained from the bilateral ICA, ACA, and MCA.
Conclusions: The results showed that VPA in therapeutic doses did not affect anterior cerebral blood flow. However according to result, it is still difficult to conclude that neurocognitive deterioration is not observed in patients receiving VPA.
Keywords: cerebral blood flow; pediatric epilepsy antiepileptic drug.; valproic acid.