Changes and clinical significance of interleukin-1β and aquaporin 4 in children with hand-foot-mouth disease combined with encephalitis

Abstract

Objective To explore the changes and clinical significance of interleukin-1β(IL-1β) and aquaporin 4 (AQP4) in children with hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) combined with encephalitis. Methods From January 2014 to June 2016, 30 cases of HFMD patients without encephalitis in Wuxi Children′s Hospital were selected as the general group, at an average age of (2.1±1.1) years, including 13 male and 17 female.Thirty cases of HFMD combined with encephalitis were selected as the observation group, at an average age of (2.4±1.2) years, including 12 male and 18 female.Twenty-six non-HFMD patients who underwent minor operations for inguinal hernia or hydrocele of testis were selected as the serum control group, including 25 male and 1 female.Twenty-six patients with non-infectious neurological disorders in the neurology department in the same period were selected as the cerebrospinal fluid control group, including 10 male and 16 female.The levels of AQP4 and IL-1β in children were detected by adopting enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay(ELISA). Results The levels of IL-1β in cerebrospinal fluid in the acute phase and recovery phase of the observation group were (95.04±20.06) ng/L and (77.63±14.51) ng/L respectively, while the levels of AQP4 in cerebrospinal fluid were (16.87±10.02) ng/L and (9.13±6.64) ng/L respectively.The levels of IL-1β in serum in the acute phase of the observation group and the general group were (82.40±18.56) ng/L and (50.20±24.22) ng/L respectively.The levels of IL-1β, AQP4 in cerebrospinal fluid were significantly higher in the acute phase of the observation group compared with the controls, and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05). The levels of IL-1β and AQP4 in the recovery phase were lo-wer than those in the acute stage, and the differences were statistically significant(all P<0.05). The levels of IL-1β in serum was significantly higher in the acute phase of the observation group compared with the general group, and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). The level of IL-1β in serum were significantly higher in the general group compared with the controls, and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05). Conclusions AQP4 and IL-1β may participate in the pathological course of HFMD combined with encephalitis by promoting brain edema, which can be used as one of the laboratory indicators for early diagnosis of the severity of the disease. Key words: Hand-foot-mouth disease; Encephalitis; Interleukin-1β; Aquaporin 4; Cerebrospinal fluid