Serum levels of neuron specific enolase in epileptic patients

Objective To explore the levels of serum neuron specific enolase(s NSE) in the 41 epileptic patients with status epilepticus and single epileptic episodes. Methods Five ml of blood was drawn before seizures (without any seizure attack for more than 7 days), and 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after seizures from each of the patients with epilepsy or in the pseudoseizure group (7 cases). Also 5 ml of blood was drawn from each of the normal control group. After centrifugation, the serum samples were storedat -70℃ until analysis. The peak s NSE levels after seizures were compared with the baseline levels in the before seizure group and the controls. Results The levels of s NSE in the controls were 6.3±1.4 μg/L. The meanpeak s NSE concentrations before and after seizures were 5.9±0.7 and 9.2±1.6 μg/L, respectively. The mean peak s NSE concentrations after seizures was singnificantly higher than those in the normal controls. No significantly changes were found in the mean s NSE concentrations in the pseudoseizure group. Conclusion s NSE could be induced to reach higher levels in the epileptic patients with either single seizures or status epilepticus, which suggested that transient neuronal injury occurred after single seizures, too, but neuronal injury took place in a more severe manner in cases of status epilepticus.