Serum and CSF adiponectin, leptin, and interleukin 6 levels as adipocytokines in Egyptian children with febrile seizures: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundA febrile seizure (FS) is the most common convulsive disorder in children. Activation of cytokine network is involved in FS pathogenesis. Adiponectin, leptin and IL-6 are the major adipocytokines secreted by fat cells. To date, only a few studies concerned the association of adipocytokines with febrile seizures. In this study, we tried to investigate serum and CSF levels of adiponectin, leptin, and interleukin-6 (IL-6); as adipocytokines, for the first time in Egyptian children with febrile seizures.MethodsThis was a prospective cross-sectional study included one hundred patients with febrile seizure, and matched with age, gender, 100 children with febrile illness without seizures (febrile control, FC) and 100 healthy control group (HC). Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of adiponectin, leptin, and (IL-6) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.ResultsSerum adiponectin was significantly higher in children with FS (16.8 ± 3.7 ug/ml) and the FC group (18.3 ± 4.3 ug/ml) compared to the HC group (9.5 ± 2.2 ug/ml); P < 0.05, respectively. Serum leptin was significantly lower in children with FS (0.9 ± 0.3 ng/ml) compared to both the FC group (4.7 ± 1.2 ng/ml) and the HC group (1.8 ± 0.4 ng/ml); P < 0.01, respectively. Children with FS had significantly higher serum IL-6 levels (43.7 ± 11.7 ng/ml) than the FC group (21.9 ± 4.5 ng/ml) and the HC group (6.5 ± 1.8 ng/ml); P < 0.01, respectively. Patients with simple febrile seizures (SFS) had serum and CSF adiponectin levels similar to those with complex febrile seizures (CFS); (P > 0.05). Serum and CSF leptin levels were significantly lower in patients with CFS compared to the SFS group (P < 0.05). Serum and CSF IL-6 levels were significantly higher in patients with CFS compared to the SFS group (P < 0.01). On multivariate logistic regression analysis, the high serum IL-6 levels was the most significant risk factor associated with febrile seizures among studied children (OR: 6.2; 95 % CI: 3.58 –10.57; P = 0.0001).ConclusionOur data brought a novel observation that some adipocytokines like leptin and IL-6 could be, at least in part, an aetiopathogenetic factor in the manifestation of febrile seizures in susceptible Egyptian children. Moreover, we observed a significant association between high CSF IL-6 levels and susceptibility to complex febrile seizures as did the low CSF leptin levels.

Acute Phase Serum Leptin, Adiponectin, Interleukin-6, and Visfatin Are Altered in Chinese Children With Febrile Seizures: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Analysis of the four adipokines showed that some of the results were similar to previous studies (8,(11)(12)(13), but this study also has new findings. A study by Turkish Güven et al (11) found that the levels of adiponectin and IL-6 in children under the age of 3 in the FS group were significantly higher than those in the HC group (p < 0.05), which is consistent with the results of the present study, but there was no statistical difference in serum adiponectin and IL-6 levels between the FS and FC groups in Güven's study.…”

“…In Güven's study, information about antipyretics is not provided. In addition, it should be noted that the age of previous studies (8,(11)(12)(13) is <3-years-old. In this study, the age range is large, and there is no difference in the number of children over 3 years old and children under 3 years old.…”

“…At present, research on the role of adipokines in the pathogenesis of FS is receiving attention. Multiple studies have examined changes in serum adipokine levels in children with FS (11)(12)(13). However, they have variable results, and there are issues with the studies, such as small numbers of cases, young age, and lack of correlation analysis with clinical indicators.…”

Effects of ganoderic acid A on lipopolysaccharide‑induced proinflammatory cytokine release from primary mouse microglia cultures

“…Furthermore, IL-1β also stimulates IL-6 release ( 25 ). After a febrile seizure, children had significantly higher serum IL-6 levels than a healthy control group ( 26 ), and IL-6 levels had a descending trend during the time of recovery from the seizure in the intractable epilepsy group and the non-intractable epilepsy group ( 27 ), indicating that high IL-6 levels may be a pathogenetic factor in epilepsy.…”

COVID‐19 and seizures: Is there a link?

“…71 Previous clinical reports have associated elevated levels of IL-6 with the occurrence of febrile seizures. 72,73 IL-6 is a proinflammatory cytokine, which can play a role in neuroinflammation and seems to contribute to the impact of inflammatory signaling on seizure thresholds. A preclinical study reported an intensification of seizures in response to intranasal IL-6 administration in a seizure model in rats.…”