ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the effects of monotherapy with carbamazepine (CBZ) or phenytoin (PHT) on the visual evoked potentials (VEPs), brainstem evoked potentials (BAEPs) and somatosensory evoked potentials. Patients with brain pathology upon CT scan or progressive neurologic disease and patients likely to be noncompliant were excluded. Serum drug levels were measured for CBZ or PHT and were within therapeutic range in all subjects. Electrophysiologic studies included VEPs after monooculs full-field pattern-reversal stimulation, click-stimulus BAEPs, and median nerve short-latency somatosensory evoked potentials, which were recorded before the treatment, according to American Electroencephalographic Society guidelines for clinical EPs studies. Electrophysiologic evaluation was repeated after at least 2 to 3 months of monotherapy. The results on the same group of patients before and after treatment were compared. Little information is available on the effects of PHT or CBZ on EPs. It concerns mainly patients receiving chronic anticonvulsant therapy.
