Morrell Martha J, Flynn Kerry L, Doñe Silvia, Flaster Edith, Kalayjian Laura, Pack Alison M
The Neurological Institute, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
Epilepsy Behav. 2005 May;6(3):360-5. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2005.01.004.
Women with epilepsy are believed to be at risk for sexual dysfunction. Disorders of sexual desire and sexual arousal, including dyspareunia, vaginismus, and lack of lubrication, affect an estimated 30 to 60% of women with epilepsy. In this study, 57 reproductive-aged women with either localization related (LRE) or primary generalized epilepsy (PGE) on antiepileptic drug (AED) monotherapy and 17 nonepileptic controls completed questionnaires examining sexual experience, arousability, anxiety, and symptoms, as well as an inventory of depression. An endocrine assessment was performed during the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Sexual dysfunction was more common in women with LRE, in women receiving phenytoin, in women with low levels of estradiol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, and in women with self-reported symptoms of mild depression. The mechanisms of sexual dysfunction in women with epilepsy are multifactorial, but AED choice appears to be one cause that is modifiable.
