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Prevalence of positive anticardiolipin antibody in benign infantile convulsion
K Yoshimura1, T Konishi, H Kotani
1Department of Pediatrics, Tosa Municipal Hospital, 1867 Kou Takaoka-cho, Tosa, 781-1101, Kochi, Japan. qwt11230@nifty.ne.jp
Insights
Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) may play a role in pediatric epilepsy, particularly benign infantile convulsions (BIC). Further research into immunological responses in BIC pathogenesis is suggested.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Immunology
- Epileptology
Background:
- Epilepsy in children can present with various seizure types.
- Anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) have been observed in some epilepsy cases.
- The specific role of aCL in benign infantile convulsions (BIC) requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the frequency of anticardiolipin antibody (aCL) positivity in children with epilepsy, with a specific focus on benign infantile convulsions (BIC).
- To explore the potential link between aCL and the pathogenesis of BIC.
Main Methods:
- Initial study of 18 children with epilepsy, identifying aCL-positive cases.
- Subsequent focused study on nine BIC cases (including three from the initial cohort).
- Analysis of aCL-Immunoglobulin (Ig) G levels and long-term observation of antibody titers.
Main Results:
- Six of 18 epilepsy cases were aCL-positive, with normal coagulation tests.
- Eight of nine BIC cases were positive for aCL-IgG.
- aCL-IgG levels decreased over time in three observed BIC cases.
- The frequency of aCL-IgG positivity in BIC was significantly higher than in control groups.
Conclusions:
- A high frequency of aCL-IgG positivity exists in benign infantile convulsions (BIC).
- These findings suggest a potential role for immunological responses in the pathogenesis of BIC.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the specific immunological mechanisms involved.
Abstract:
We report six anticardiolipin antibody (aCL)-positive cases among 18 children with epilepsy showing various seizure types in our initial study. These six cases revealed normal coagulation tests. As three of these six cases involved benign infantile convulsion (BIC), we further investigated the high frequency of positive aCL-Immunoglobulin (Ig) G in BIC in our subsequent study of nine cases that included three cases from the previous study and an additional six BIC cases followed and/or diagnosed by co-author (T.K.). As a result, eight of nine BIC cases were positive for aCL-IgG and the values of aCL-IgG decreased over long-term observation in three of these cases. The frequency of positivity for aCL-IgG in BIC was obviously higher than that of controls. Based on these results, we suggest that some immunological responses may be responsible for the pathogenesis of BIC.