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[Zinc and epilepsy: is there a causal relation between them?].
C B Moreno1, A M Gutiérrez-Alvarez, R E González-Reyes
1Grupo de Investigación en Neurociencias (NEUROS), Universidad Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, Facultad de Medicina, Bogotá, Colombia.
Revista De Neurologia
|June 16, 2006
Summary
This review found insufficient evidence linking zinc levels to epilepsy. Further research is needed to clarify the role of zinc homeostasis and its potential connection to seizures and antiepileptic drugs.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Zinc is essential for nervous system function.
- Alterations in brain zinc homeostasis are potentially linked to epilepsy.
- The relationship between antiepileptic drugs and neuronal zinc is poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review the literature on the role of zinc in epilepsy.
- To evaluate the antiepileptic effects of zinc concentrations.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review from 1974 to 2005.
- Searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCISEARCH, and LILACS databases.
- Included English and Spanish articles, with manual reference checks.
Main Results:
- Clinical research on zinc and epilepsy yielded contradictory findings.
- Studies, including animal and human data, lacked sufficient evidence.
- Most reviewed studies did not report statistically significant results regarding zinc variations and epilepsy.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence is insufficient to establish a direct relationship between zinc variations and epilepsy.
- The role of zinc in the genesis or consequence of seizures remains undetermined.
- Further investigation is required to understand zinc's impact on epilepsy and antiepileptic drug interactions.
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