Abstract
BackgroundTemporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a common form of focal epilepsy. Serum biomarkers to predict cognitive performance in TLE patients without psychiatric comorbidities and the link with gray matter (GM) atrophy have not been fully explored.MethodsThirty-four patients with TLE and 34 sex - and age-matched controls were enrolled for standardized cognitive tests, neuroimaging studies as well as measurements of serum levels of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), S100ß protein (S100ßP), neuronal specific enolase (NSE), plasma nuclear and mitochondrial DNA levels.ResultsCompared with the controls, the patients with TLE had poorer cognitive performances and higher HSP70 and S100ßP levels (p < 0.01). The patients with higher frequencies of seizures had higher levels of HSP70, NSE and S100ßP (p < 0.01). Serum HSP70 level correlated positively with duration of epilepsy (σ = 0.413, p < 0.01), and inversely with memory scores in the late registration (σ = −0.276, p = 0.01) and early recall score (σ = −0.304, p = 0.007). Compared with the controls, gray matter atrophy in the hippocampal and parahippocampal areas, putamen, thalamus and supplementary motor areas were found in the patient group. The HSP70 levels showed an inverse correlation with hippocampal volume (R square = 0.22, p = 0.007) after controlling for the effect of age.ConclusionsOur results suggest that serum biomarkers were predictive of higher frequencies of seizures in the TLE group. HSP70 may be considered to be a stress biomarker in patients with TLE in that it correlated inversely with memory scores and hippocampal volume. In addition, the symmetric extratemporal atrophic patterns may be related to damage of neuronal networks and epileptogenesis in TLE.
Highlights
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a common form of focal epilepsy
The present study explored the clinical significance of serum biomarkers in relation to epileptic characteristics, cognitive performance and regions of gray matter (GM) atrophy patterns in patients with TLE
Taken together with the results of our study in that S100ß protein (S100ßP) was significantly higher in Group 2 patients, we suggest that the serum concentration of S100ßP could be another useful biomarker in patients with TLE for the evaluation of seizure activity
Summary
Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is a common form of focal epilepsy. Serum biomarkers to predict cognitive performance in TLE patients without psychiatric comorbidities and the link with gray matter (GM) atrophy have not been fully explored. In TLE, a few studies have suggested that serum S100ßP [12,13], NSE [14] or HSP70 [15,16,17] may be useful biomarkers for central nervous system damage. Elevation of plasma nuclear and mitochondrial DNA has been considered to be the consequence of neuronal cell death in the brain parenchyma, and has been linked with poor outcomes in bacterial meningitis and ischemic stroke [18,19]. Whether these two biomarkers are associated with poor cognitive performances in TLE has not been reported before
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.