The Relationship Between Serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid Concentrations of Zinc in Febrile Seizure

Febrile Seizure (FS) which has different causes, is the most prevalent seizure type in children. Studies supported the role of Zinc (Zn) in FS. 

The present study aimed to evaluate the serum and Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Zn level in children with FS. 

This cross-sectional study was performed on 50 patients with FS aged 6 months-6 years in Amirkola Children’s Hospital in 2013-2014. The required demographic and clinical data were recorded employing a checklist. The serum and CSF Zn levels were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS) method. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS using the Chi-squared teste, Independent Samples t-test, and Pearson correlation coefficient.

The mean±SD age of the explored patients was 12.78±8.38 months and their mean±SD serum Zn level was equal to 0.68±0.62 µg/L. In total, 34(68%) of these 50 children presented Zn deficiency. The mean±SD CSF Zn level was measured as 33.29±11.84 µg/L. Moreover, the mean±SD CSF Zn level was equal to 37.71±10.82 and 31.21±11.87 in normal and abnormal serum Zn groups, respectively. In terms of mean CSF Zn level, there was no significant difference between the studied patients with healthy and decreased serum Zn level; (P=0.07). No significant difference was found between the demographic/clinical characteristics of the investigated patients with FS and normal/abnormal serum levels of Zn (P>0.05). 

The obtained data revealed that a significant number of patients with FS had decreased serum Zn level; however, no association was detected between serum and CSF Zn concentration levels.