Parathyroid function and serum calcitonin in children receiving anticonvulsant drugs.

Serum calcitonin (CT) levels and other aspects of calcium metabolism were investigated in 40 epileptic children receiving long-term treatment with phenytoin and/or other anticonvulsant drugs, and in 38 age-matched controls. In the patients CT levels were significantly lower. Immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH) was significantly elevated exceeding the upper limit of controls in 11 patients. We also observed a highly significant correlation between iPTH and urinary cyclic AMP (cAMP) excretion but a lack of such a correlation with the renal handling of phosphate; this indicates to us a dissociation between cAMP production and phosphaturia. A significant correlation between iPTH levels and urinary hydroxyproline excretion points to a normal action of PTH on bone in the patients. The low CT levels are not due to hypocalcemia and may be directly attributed to the effects of anticonvulsant drugs. As the primary effect of CT is a direct inhibition of PTH induced calcium loss from bone, the drug-related low CT levels in association with secondary hyperparathyroidism possibly is an additional factor in anticonvulsant bone disease.