ETHOSUXIMIDE: LIVER ENZYME INDUCTION AND D‐GLUCARIC ACID EXCRETION

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Abstract
A study has been carried out to determine if ethosuximide induces liver enzymes. Ethosuximide did not affect the urinary excretion of D‐glucaric acid by healthy adult subjects nor was the mean daily D‐glucaric acid excretion of three epileptic children on long term ethosuximide therapy different from that of three matched controls. Ethosuximide (10 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg daily) did not influence D‐glucaric acid excretion or liver microsomal protein and cytochrome P450 contents of guinea pigs but at a dose of 100 mg/kg daily in rats it increased liver microsomal protein and cytochrome P450 without altering D‐glucaric acid excretion. These results suggest that at anticonvulsant doses ethosuximide is unlikely to induce liver enzymes. The precise relationship between D‐glucaric acid excretion and liver enzyme induction remains in doubt.