Frequency of Anticardiolipin, Antinuclear and anti-betha2 Glycoprotein I Antibodies in Children with Epilepsy

A high prevalence of epilepsy in specific immunological diseases suggests that the immune system may play a role in the pathogenesis of epilepsy. Many studies have suggested that aberrations of the immunological system may be associated with epilepsy. This study determined the presence of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL), antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and anti-b2-glycoprotein I antibodies (anti-b2-GPI) in 40 children with epilepsy and 38 healthy subjects. We found aCL to be positive in 3 patients, and anti-b2-GPI in 1 patient. In control group they were negative. ANA antibodies were negative in both groups. Duration of epilepsy < 1 year was recorded in all three patients with positive aCL. However, no statistically significant difference was found in the presence of aCL, ANA, and anti-b2-GPI between patients and control subjects. There was no statistically significant correlation between age, sex, age at onset of epilepsy, duration of epilepsy, seizure frequency or specific antiepileptic medications with the presence of any measured antibodies. When epileptic patients were subdivided according to their type of seizure, we found no significant difference in the distribution of antibodies.