Abstract

Our study aim was to measure the urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase/creatinine (NAG/UCr) index in epileptic children who received levetiracetam (LEV) treatment at least for 6 months, and compare it to healthy children. Thirty five children with epilepsy were enrolled in this prospective study. NAG was studied using the calorimetric method and NAG levels were expressed in units per liter (U/L) and NAG/UCre levels were determined in U/mmol creatinine. There were no statistically significant differences for the urine NAG and NAG/UCr index before and after LEV treatment in the epileptic group (p>0.05, for each). There were no significant correlations between the serum concentration of LEV and urinary NAG levels (r=0.258, p=0.135) and NAG/UCr levels (r=0.164, p=0.346) before treatment. Our study demonstrated that LEV treatment was safe and did not interfere in renal tubular function in epileptic children.

Key words: Children, epilepsy, levetiracetam, N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase, renal tubular function