The Relation between Uric Acid and Epilepsy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University; Sharkia, Egypt.

2 Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University; Sharkia, Egypt

Abstract

Background: The close link between oxidative stress and neuroinflammation is greatly implicated in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. There is evidence that uric acid with its pro-inflammatory and pro-oxidant potentials leads to an increased excitability, enhancing the severity of epileptic seizures. The current study aimed to assess the association between serum uric acid level and disease characteristics and evaluate the effect of antiepileptic drugs on its level.
Methods: This study was done on 62 healthy subjects and 62 patients with primary epilepsy, subjected to detailed medical and neurological history taking with stress on the seizure history (specially seizure frequency and seizure control and current antiepileptic drugs), and laboratory evaluation of serum uric acid.
Results: High levels of uric acid were found in epileptic patients compared to healthy subjects. Higher levels of serum uric acid were associated with the clinical parameters: more disease duration, more seizure frequency and severity, and in patients receiving polytherapy and patients with poor seizure control.
Conclusions: Uric acid can be used as a biomarker of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation which are involved in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Therefore, manipulating uric acid can be beneficial in suppressing the epileptic seizures.
Keywords: Uric acid, seizures, epilepsy, antiepileptic drugs

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Zagazig University Medical Journal
Volume 28, Issue 5
September 2022
Pages 1127-1134

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