JOURNAL OF CHILD NEUROLOGY, vol.20, no.7, pp.565-568, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
Febrile seizures are the most common form of childhood seizures. The exact mechanism promoting convulsions during a common febrile illness remains unknown, but it is accepted that genetic influences are likely to account for at least some of the cases. Previous studies reported high interleukin-1 beta levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with febrile seizures. Recently, an association between a regulatory polymorphism in the genes encoding interleukin-1 beta and interleukin-1Ra and febrile seizures was reported. In this study, we attempted to confirm these findings. We analyzed the cytokine gene polymorphisms of interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-1 alpha, and interleukin-1Ra of 73 children with febrile seizure and 152 healthy controls. The distribution of interleukin-1 beta-511, interleukin-1 alpha-889, and interleukin-1Ra genotypes and alleles did not differ significantly between cases and controls. Our data suggest that the studied gene polymorphisins of interleukin-1 beta, interleukin-1 alpha, and interleukin-1Ra do not have a significant role in the pathogenesis of febrile seizures.