Relation between serum amylin level and epilepsy

Background Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by convulsions. Identification of biological pathways underlying epilepsy and novel genes may shed light on the pathogenesis of epilepsy as well as new targets for treatment. Objectives Amylin is cosecreted with insulin from the pancreatic beta-cells in a pulsatile manner as a response to nutrient stimuli. In vitro studies have shown the neurotoxicity potential of amylin. We aimed to investigate serum amylin levels between epilepsy patients and a healthy control group. Subjects and methods For this study, 45 patients with epilepsy and 60 healthy controls were enrolled. Routine blood analysis and electroencephalography scan were performed for all participants. Five cc venous blood sample was collected from each participant. Sera were isolated and stored at - 80 degrees C until the time of amylin analysis with the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Gender distribution of the two groups was as follows: 44.4% males and 55.6% females among epileptic patients and 53.3% males and 46.7% females for control subjects. Body mass index was 23.09 +/- 3.99 kg/m(2) for epileptic patients and 26.29 +/- 4.83 kg/m(2) for controls, with a statistically significantly higher body mass index in control subjects (p < 0.001). With regard to serum amylin levels, a statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups (p < 0.001). The median serum amylin concentration was 226.62 ng/ml (69.49-6961.19 (min-max)) for epileptic patients and 103.66 ng/ml (37.42-607.11 (min-max)) for controls (p < 0.001). Conclusion In the present study, a significant difference was observed between patient and control groups in serum amylin concentrations, which were considerably higher in epileptic patients.