Zinc concentration in serum and cerebrospinal fluid simultaneously decrease in children with febrile seizure:...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Neurochemistry
• Nutritional Neuroscience

Background:

• Febrile seizures (FS) have complex, multi-factorial origins that are not fully understood.
• Zinc (Zn) plays a critical role in neurological function, and its concentration in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) may be relevant to seizure activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate simultaneous changes in serum and CSF zinc concentrations in children experiencing febrile seizures (FS) compared to febrile children without seizures (NSF).

Main Methods:

• A prospective cross-sectional study measured serum and CSF zinc levels in 50 children with FS and 30 NSF peers using graphite furnace atomic absorbance spectrophotometry.
• Statistical analysis was performed to compare zinc levels between the FS and NSF groups.

Main Results:

• Children with FS exhibited significantly lower mean serum zinc (464.60 ± 64.57 µg/L) and CSF zinc (46.28 ± 7.46 µg/L) compared to NSF peers (749.33 ± 73.19 µg/L and 111.28 ± 19.11 µg/L, respectively) (p < 0.001 for both).
• No significant differences in serum or CSF zinc levels were found concerning age, fever severity, or duration between the groups.
• CSF zinc showed an upward trend in samples collected over 12 hours post-FS episode.

Conclusions:

• Simultaneous decreases in serum and CSF zinc concentrations were observed in children with febrile seizures.
• Further large-scale, multicenter studies are recommended to validate these findings.
• Adequate zinc supplementation may be crucial for strengthening national seizure prevention strategies.