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In a paper in the April issue of Neurology Dr Allison Pack details how research found that women taking the epilepsy drug dilantin showed a bone loss that was eight times higher than premenopausal women who had not taken any drugs for epilepsy.

"That suggests that if these women remain on this medication and have ongoing significant or accelerated bone loss that over time, they will be entering the peri-menopausal period with lower bone density and therefore a greater risk for low bone mineral density over time and therefore a higher risk of fractures," stated Pack.

According to Dr. R. Eugene Ramsay, director of the International Center for Epilepsy at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 90 percent of older people who have epileptic seizures are prescribed Dilantin due to the fact that it's more cost effective.

The research is important because it shows that the adverse affect of the drug on bone density makes it an undesirable choice for older patients who are already at a higher risk for bone loss.

[Source: MedlinePlus]