Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Neurology Department, Faculty of Medicine for Girls, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
Appl Neuropsychol Child. 2022 Jul-Sep;11(3):291-296. doi: 10.1080/21622965.2020.1807982. Epub 2020 Aug 25.
Epilepsy is a heterogeneous disorder that is not limited to experiencing seizures but also includes multiple neuropsychiatric squeal (i.e. attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression and anxiety) that adversely impact a child quality of life. However, the underlying mechanism linking both disorders is not yet thoroughly explored. Our objective was to assess pro-inflammatory cytokines levels in children with seizure controlled epilepsy and explore the association between pro-inflammatory cytokines and the co-occurrence of ADHD in such children. A cross-sectional study included 50 children with controlled epilepsy for at least one year, in addition to 30 neurotypical children as controls. All children were assessed by the Conner parent scale for ADHD. Serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels were measured and correlated to clinical data. In the present study, 23 out of 50 children with epilepsy also had ADHD (46%). Children with ADHD have been found to have a significantly lower age of onset, longer duration of epilepsy, and a higher serum level of IL-6 and TNF-α than those without ADHD. The Conner's parent rating scale overall total score yielded significant negative correlations with the age of onset of epilepsy and a significant positive correlation with the duration of epilepsy and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. In addition to active seizures, the presence of elevated circulating inflammation markers may be associated with increased frequency of ADHD in children with epilepsy aged 6-14 years.
癫痫是一种异质性疾病，不仅限于发作，还包括多种神经精神症状（即注意缺陷/多动障碍（ADHD）、抑郁和焦虑），这些症状会对儿童的生活质量产生不利影响。然而，将这两种疾病联系起来的潜在机制尚未得到彻底探讨。我们的目的是评估癫痫发作控制良好的儿童的促炎细胞因子水平，并探讨促炎细胞因子与这些儿童 ADHD 共病之间的关系。一项横断面研究纳入了 50 名癫痫发作控制良好至少 1 年的儿童，另外纳入 30 名神经典型儿童作为对照。所有儿童均采用康纳父母量表评估 ADHD。测量血清白细胞介素-6（IL-6）和肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）水平，并与临床数据相关联。在本研究中，50 名癫痫儿童中有 23 名（46%）也患有 ADHD。患有 ADHD 的儿童发病年龄明显较低，癫痫持续时间较长，血清 IL-6 和 TNF-α 水平较高。康纳父母评定量表的总分与癫痫发病年龄呈显著负相关，与癫痫持续时间和促炎细胞因子水平呈显著正相关。除了癫痫发作外，循环炎症标志物水平升高可能与 6-14 岁癫痫儿童 ADHD 发病频率增加有关。
