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this came to me epilepsy therapy project,here is the article;

Marker of Inflammation May be Elevated with Certain Seizure Types

In recent studies presented in the May issue of the journal Epilepsia, Doctors

Alapirtti and colleagues from the department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation,

Tampere University Hospital in Tampere, Finland and the departments of Virology

and Neurology at the University of Turku and Clinical Neurophysiology Pirkanmaa

Hospital District detailed an analysis looking at a marker of inflammation known

as C-reactive protein (CRP) and its relationship to specific seizures. The

investigators looked at 31 patients who had drug resistant epilepsy of partial

onset who were admitted for a video EEG monitoring unit at the Tampere

University Hospital.

All of these patients underwent continuous monitoring for four days with the

idea of recording seizures as part of their clinical evaluation for potential

epilepsy surgery. They drew blood samples at the beginning of the four day

recording at various points in the admission and in relationship to their

recorded seizures.

Their goal?

To see whether there was a change in the CRP level after seizures in patients

who had refractory epilepsy, and to look at the difference in baseline CRP

levels in healthy patients versus those with epilepsy. They also assessed

elevated CRP levels and if the CRP levels varied with epilepsy syndrome, cause

of epilepsy, length of epilepsy, seizure duration, seizure frequency, and the

current use of enzyme inducing antiepileptic drugs.

The results?

The investigators found that CRP was significantly higher in patients who had

refractory partial epilepsy as compared to patients without epilepsy.

All five patients with an elevated CRP level had temporal lobe epilepsy versus

other epilepsy types. They noted that the most important predictor of an

increase in the CRP level was having a secondary generalized tonic-clonic

seizure. They concluded that the higher baseline level in patients with epilepsy

compared with healthy controls show that CRP concentrations are effected in

patients with drug resistant epilepsy. It also suggests that a single

generalized tonic-clonic seizure stimulates CRP production. These results

emphasize the association between inflammation and drug resistant epilepsy.

And what does this mean?

This study is important for two reason:

1.

It shows there is clearly an elevation of the markers of inflammation in

patients with drug resistant epilepsy and;

2.

It also shows that single seizures can significantly increase CRP. This finding

implies that an approach for the treatment of epilepsy could involve the use of

an anti-inflammatory agent. This idea if translated to therapy could change the

way we treat seizures.

Much more research needs to be done in order to understand the full meaning of

this study, but early signs are very positive.

by ph I. Sirven, MD

Editor-in-Chief, epilepsy.com

Last Reviewed: 6/20/2012