Biochemical Assessments of Neurotrophin-3 and Zinc Involvement in the Pathophysiology of Pediatric Febrile Seizures: Biochemical Markers in Febrile Seizures

• Published in: Biological trace element research 2022-06, Vol.200 (6), p.2614-2619
• Main Authors: Bakri, Ali Helmi, Hassan, Mohammed H., Ahmed, Ahmed El-Abd, Halim, Pola Rafat, El-Sawy, Samer A., Mohamed, Montaser Mohamed, Rashwan, Nagwan I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Biochemistry; Biomarkers; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Child; Child, Preschool; GAP-43 Protein; Humans; Infant; Life Sciences; Nutrition; Oncology; Seizures, Febrile - diagnosis; Seizures, Febrile - etiology; Zinc
• ISSN: 0163-4984; 1559-0720
• DOI: 10.1007/s12011-021-02886-w

Febrile seizures (FSs) are a common occurrence in young children and a serious concern in pediatric practice; nevertheless, the causes and mechanisms of FS are still unknown. We hypothesized a relation of neuropeptides such as neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) as well as zinc and the oxidant/antioxidant system with pediatric FS. The study included 100 infants categorized into 50 infants with FS and 50 febrile infants without seizures as controls. Clinical assessments, biochemical assays of NT-3 and GAP-43 using ELISA assay kits, and colorimetric measurements of TAC and Zn were performed to all participants. Overall, significant rises of the values of NT-3 and insignificant increases of GAP-43 were detected in children with FS. At the same time, zinc values and the total antioxidant capacity in serum samples were found to be decreased significantly. In addition, a negative correlation was estimated between NT-3 and zinc levels. Serum NT-3 in diagnosing febrile seizures at cutoff point > 49.62 ng/L showed 100% sensitivity, 46% specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) = 48.1%, and negative predictive value (NPP) = 100% with AUC = 0.678. Significant altered circulating NT-3 and zinc levels in FS may indicate their possible role in the pathogenesis of FS. This may open a way for further research and warrants enlightening of the pathophysiological details of FS.