J Korean Child Neurol Soc.  2003 May;11(1):55-60.

The Relationship between Iron Deficiency Anemia and Febrile Seizure

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, The Catholic University of Korea, Medical College, Seoul, Korea. choibj@catholic.ac.kr

Abstract

PURPOSE: A part of seizure disorders, hemosiderin deposits are noted in epileptogenic lesions cytopathologically and iron status may affect the seizure threshold. To investigate this possibility, measures of iron sufficiency were evaluated.
METHODS
Children between 6 months and 5 years of age with febrile illnesss with (n=45) or without simple febrile seizures(n=50) were eligible for study. Children with the central nervous system(meningitis or encephalitis) infection, developmental delay, neurologic deficit, or past history of febrile seizures were excluded.
RESULTS
The hemoglobin level was 11.99+/-0.96 gm/dL in the febrile seizure and 11.44+/-1.6 gm/dL in the control group. The mean corpuscular volume was 77.9+/-6.2 fL in the febrile seizure group and 74.6+/-10.5 fL in the control group. The mean corpuscular hemoglobin was 26.8+/-2.1 pg in the febrile seizure group and 25.4+/-3.6 pg in the control group. The platelet count was 348.6+/-141.4(x10(9)/L) in the febrile seizure group and 382.3+/-107.3(x10(9)/L) in the control group. The ferritin was 27.5+/-20.2 mg/L in the febrile seizure group and 22.5+/-15.6 mg/L in the control group.
CONCLUSION
A relationship between iron deficiency and a reduced risk of febrile seizures is consistent with the study hypothesis that iron deficiency may thereby raise the febrile seizure threshold. Therefore, the effects of antioxidants on the frequency of febrile seizures could be evaluated to test this hypothesis more directly. Studies using iron chelators would be necessary to delineate these possible effects.

Keyword

Febrile seizure; Anemia

MeSH Terms

Anemia
Anemia, Iron-Deficiency*
Antioxidants
Chelating Agents
Child
Epilepsy
Erythrocyte Indices
Ferritins
Hemosiderin
Humans
Iron*
Neurologic Manifestations
Platelet Count
Seizures
Seizures, Febrile*
Antioxidants
Chelating Agents
Ferritins
Hemosiderin
Iron
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