Study on serum zinc and selenium levels in epileptic patients

OBJECTIVE: To estimate serum zinc and selenium levels in a group of healthy subjects and correlate these with epileptic patients.

METHODS: This case-control study was conducted in the Department of Neurology, Valiasr Hospital, Iran, between November 2011 and May 2012 on 40 patients aged 26.63+/-5.78 years who were diagnosed with generalized and a single epileptic form of epilepsy by a neurologist for the first time. The control group was selected from healthy individuals, and matched to the case group. Serum zinc was measured by the calorimetric method using a Randox kit. Selenium was measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy.

RESULTS: The mean zinc level was 151.2+/-29.75 ug/dl in the cases, and 181.63+/-60.19 ug/dl in the controls (p=0.006). The mean selenium level was 73.37+/-13.31 ug/l in cases compared with 85.55+/-19.39 ug/dl in controls (p=0.002). We also found a significant difference between the selenium levels by gender in the 2 groups (p=0.03).

CONCLUSION: We observed statistically significant changes in serum zinc and selenium levels of epileptic adult patients in comparison with the control group. As zinc and selenium are used as potent antioxidants in cellular interactions, changes in their serum values may result in enzymatic changes, which in turn can cause neurological disorders.