Interleukin-6, interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist levels in epileptic seizures

Data are accumulating to support the involvement of inflammatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis and course of epilepsy.

The aim of this study was to examine seizure-induced changes in plasma concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in 23 patients with epilepsy undergoing a video-electroencephalography (EEG) study. Patients were divided into groups based on epilepsy type as follows: temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) (n=6), extra-temporal lobe epilepsy (XLE) (n=8) and idiopathic generalised epilepsy (IGE) (n=9). Serum levels of IL-1β, IL-1Ra and IL-6 were measured at baseline, immediately after the epileptic seizure, and at 3h, 6h, 12h and 24h after the seizure.

We demonstrated a significant increase in plasma levels of IL-6 and IL-1Ra that peaked at 12h into the post-ictal period (p<0.05). IL-1β levels did not differ from the baseline levels. We did not observe any differences in post-ictal cytokine release patterns between the TLE, XLE and IGE groups.

The present study confirms the findings that epileptic seizures induce the production of IL-6 and IL-1Ra.