Abstracts

Rationale: We investigated significant changes in the levels of cytokines and the severity of brain insult in the neonatal seizure patients induced by hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and observed a pattern of serial cytokine concentrations Methods: The HIE-induced seizure group consisted of 13 patients, and another 15 normal newborns were enrolled as a control group. The initial samples in the seizure groups were obtained within the first 24 hr of seizure onset, while the samples in the control group were obtained within the first 24 hr of admission. The second samples were obtained between 48 and 72 hr in both groups. The third samples were taken only in the seizure group on the 5th day of seizure onset. Results: During neonatal seizures, the levels of cytokines increased within 24 hr and the levels of cytokines decreased after 48 to 72 hr of seizure onset. Among the 10 interested cytokines, the levels of IL-8 significantly increased for 72 hr in the seizure group (p < 0.05). IL-10 was not significant for the first 24 hr, but increased significantly between 48 to 72 h of seizure onset (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, IL-1Ra decreased significantly in the 2nd sample (p < 0.05). During the prognosis, one patient who was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy at 6 months of age presented extreme elevation of IL-1beta, IL-1Ra, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-alpha in the initial sample, reflecting the severity of brain damage Conclusions: Our findings suggest that serial examination of serum cytokine concentrations may serve as a biomarker for brain damage of neonatal seizure when detected within 72 hr of the seizure.