Possible Role of Heat Shock Protein 70 in Childhood Seizures

Abstract

Abstract Background There has been a long interest in investigating the relationship between heat shock protein (HSP) expression and the evidence of neuronal damage in the most susceptible brain areas after seizures. So, the present study aimed to assess heat shock protein (HSP70) in children with seizures (febrile seizures and epilepsy), and to find out the cutoff point of this marker that may help in confirming epilepsy diagnosis. The present study has been conducted to evaluate serum levels of HSP70 in children with epileptic and febrile seizures and to compare these results to that of healthy children. Materials and Methods A prospective study included 85 children (32 females and 53 males) in Children and Maternity Unit, Minia University Hospital, Minia, Egypt. Children were subdivided into three groups, group (I) included 30 children with epilepsy, group (II) included 30 children with febrile seizures, and group (III) included 25 healthy children that served as a control group. HSP70 assay was performed for all included children using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique. Results The overall results revealed significant high serum HSP70 levels in epilepsy and febrile seizures groups when compared with control group (p < 0.001). Also, HSP70 serum levels were significantly higher in epilepsy group than in febrile seizures group (p < 0.001). Serum HSP70 level at a cutoff point > 170 ng/L showed 60% sensitivity and specificity equal to 83.3% in prediction of epilepsy. Conclusion HSP70 level was significantly higher in epileptic and febrile seizures children than normal healthy children, and HSP70 may be beneficial in confirming the diagnosis of epilepsy.