A comparison of glutamic acid decarboxylase serum autoantibody levels in pediatric intractable and non-intractable epilepsy

• Published in: Medicina Clínica Práctica Vol. 4; p. 100237
• Main Authors: Anggraini, Novi Dwi, Gunawan, Prastiya Indra, Saharso, Darto, Irwanto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier España, S.L.U 01.04.2021
• Subjects: Autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase; Children; Intractable epilepsy; Intractable epilepsy; Children; Autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase
• ISSN: 2603-9249; 2603-9249
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mcpsp.2021.100237

The purpose of this study was to compare autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase serum levels in children suffering from intractable and non-intractable epilepsy at Dr. Soetomo General Hospital Surabaya, Indonesia. A case–control study was conducted with children suffering from intractable and non-intractable epilepsy from November to December 2018 in the pediatric neurology outpatient clinic. Autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase serum levels were examined from both groups using ELISA; statistical analysis was performed using the Mann–Whitney U test non-parametric tests. A sample of 80 children was divided into two groups of 40 children each. Their average age was 5.4 years (range of 4 months–17 years). The average anti-epileptic drug treatment duration was 2.3 years (3 months–13 years). Glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibody levels in the intractable group were higher compared to levels in the non-intractable group, ranging from 140 to 410ng/ml (median 243.3) and 10–120ng/ml (median 98.10) respectively with p values<0.05. Children suffering from intractable epilepsy have higher levels of GAD-Ab compared to children with non-intractable epilepsy.