ABSTRACT

Background: Epilepsy is a common dysfunction of the nervous system in children. Altered levels of zinc, copper, and calcium in the blood can be considered an important cause of seizures and their recurrence.

Aim: To investigate the difference in serum zinc, copper and calcium levels between the control group and the patient group.

Methods: Case, control study on 121 epileptic patients, aged from 2 months to 15 years, from the visitors of consult clinic in Babil hospital for maternity and children and Outpatient pediatricians clinics in AL-Hillah city and 58 apparently healthy children of similar age and sex. Venous blood withdrawn from patients and controls then serum levels of zinc, copper, and calcium were measured.

Results: After measuring the levels of zinc, copper and calcium in the serum of 187 children, including 121 children with epilepsy and 66 children without any diseases, it was found that the average zinc among patients was higher than in control. As for copper, a significant difference was found for the mean, as it was less among patients as compared to control. And, for measuring the level of calcium in the serum, there was no significant difference between patients and control.

Conclusion: From the results of our research, we conclude that the level of zinc in the blood serum was higher in children with epilepsy,this increase in zinc levels appears to be due to antiepileptic treatments, while the level of copper in the blood serum was lower in patients than in healthy children ,This result is contrary to most studies that have studied serum copper levels in children with epilepsy, and there was no significant difference in the level of calcium in the blood serum between the two groups of patients and healthy.

Keywords: Epilepsy, Children, Trace elements, Zinc, Copper, Calcium.