Abstracts

Rationale: Urinary and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of 8-hydroxy-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were measured to estimate the relevancy of oxidative stress to the disease in children with status epilepticus (SE). Currently, 8-OHdG is used as a sensitive marker for oxidative DNA damage. However, few studies have previously analyzed urinary or CSF 8-OHdG levels in children with an organic brain damage. Methods: Urinary 8-OHdG levels were measured in 23 children with SE and in 51 healthy children. CSF 8-OHdG levels were studied in 13 children with SE and in 19 controls. The relationship between urinary and CSF levels of 8-OHdG was determined in 5 children where both urinary and CSF samples were available. The measurement of urinary 8-OHdG was conducted with an ELISA kit and CSF 8-OHdG was conducted with a HPLC analyzer. Results: The levels of urinary and CSF 8-OHdG in control children were 18.1±6.4 ng/mg cre and 4.14±2.06 pg/ml respectively. The levels of urinary 8-OHdG in SE were 63.1±99.6 ng/mg cre and there was no significant difference. The levels of CSF 8-OHdG in SE were 9.25±3.08 pg/ml, which was significantly higher than in controls (P<0.05). A positive correlation between the levels of urinary and CSF 8-OHdG in SE was noted (P<0.05).Conclusions: The production of free radicals by excessive stimulation of the excitatory amino acid receptors are considered to be a cause of seizures. Oxidative stress may accelerate brain tissue damage at the early stage of certain pathological processes associated with SE. Measurement of CSF 8-OHdG was useful for estimating oxidative brain damage. CSF 8-OHdG reflects active oxidative stress induced brain damage in children more closely than urinary 8-OHdG. Urinary 8-OHdG appears to be an useful marker of disease activity in childhood nervous disorders in which oxidative stress plays an important pathogenic role.