SynthesisBritish journal of clinical pharmacology2017
Do antiepileptic drugs increase the risk of infectious diseases? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled studies.
Synthesis in British journal of clinical pharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.
- Do antiepileptic drugs increase the risk of infectious diseases? A meta-analysis of placebo-controlled studies.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2017Pooled it
- An evaluation of cytokine responses and antiseizure medication levels during mild upper respiratory infections in children with epilepsy.BMC pediatrics · 2026Article
- Clinical Deterioration in Dogs with Idiopathic Epilepsy Caused byAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Drug-resistant epilepsy associated with peripheral complement decreases and sex-specific cytokine imbalances: a pilot study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Secondary antibody deficiencies: what's around the corner?Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Sex-Specific Complement and Cytokine Imbalances in Drug-Resistant Epilepsy: Biomarkers of Immune Vulnerability.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Insights into epileptogenesis from post-traumatic epilepsy.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2024Review
- Virus-Induced Epilepsy vs. Epilepsy Patients Acquiring Viral Infection: Unravelling the Complex Relationship for Precision Treatment.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- In vitro evaluation of fenfluramine and norfenfluramine as victims of drug interactions.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2022Review
- Brivaracetam exhibits mild pro-inflammatory features in anFrontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2022Article
- Comparison of the safety of brivaracetam at various doses among patients with epilepsy: A network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2020Article
- Antiepileptic Drug Use Is Associated with an Increased Risk of Pneumonia Among Community-Dwelling Persons with Alzheimer's Disease-Matched Cohort Study.Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsExperimental studies show that some antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) may modify natural immune defences, thus influencing the risk of developing infectious diseases. The aim of this meta-analysis was to explore whether AEDs as a class of drugs or singularly may increase risk of infectious diseases.
methodsA meta-analysis of all randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) investigating any AED in any condition was performed. All terms that could be coded in the System Organ Classes (SOCs) of infections and infestations using the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities were recorded. Additional subanalyses were performed also pooling together AEDs sharing similar mechanisms of action.
resultsTwo hundreds and sixty-nine double-blind, placebo-controlled studies were identified and, among them, 127 RCTs with 16 AEDs (brivaracetam, gabapentin, lacosamide, levetiracetam, lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, perampanel, pregabalin, phenytoin, remacemide, retigabine, rufinamide, tiagabine, topiramate, valproate, zonisamide) reported at least one of 19 symptoms or diseases that could be included in the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities SOC term infections and infestations. These terms were singularly recorded and then pooled together in the SOC term infection and infestation. Topiramate was significantly associated with an increased risk of infection (risk difference = 0.04; 95% confidence interval = 0.01/0.06), while oxcarbazepine was significantly associated with a lower risk (-0.005; -0.09/-0.01). Risk difference of all studies with all AEDs showed a slight, but significantly increased risk of infection (0.01; 0.00/0.002). Levetiracetam and brivaracetam RCTs, when pooled together, were associated with a significantly increased risk of infection (0.03; 0.01/0.05).
conclusionsSome AEDs are associated with a mild increased risk of infection.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.