Abstract
Sexual dysfunction and decreased fertility in men with epilepsy are frequent. They are caused by the epilepsy itself, by antiepileptic drugs and psychosocial factors.
Previously, a lot of attention was paid to these disorders in women, in recent years, however, new knowledge in this area in men has been accumulated. The paper describes the effects of epilepsy on the hypothalamo-pituitary functional axis and on various reproductive hormones and the effect of antiepileptic drugs.
Antiepileptic drugs act by induction or inhibition of liver enzymes and thereby the single plasma hormone levels are influenced. Key words: sexual dysfunction, decreased fertility, epilepsy, epilepsy in men, new antiepileptic drugs, enzyme-inducing AEDs, enzymeinhibiting AEDs, reproductive hormones.