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Iron insufficiency linked to first febrile seizure
A DGReview of :"Iron Status: A Possible Risk Factor for the First Febrile Seizure"
Epilepsia
08/16/2002
By Alison Palkhivala
Iron insufficiency may play a role in the development of first febrile seizures in children.
Researchers found that plasma ferritin levels were lower in children with a first febrile seizure than in children who had febrile illnesses without convulsions.
Led by Azhar D. Daoud, MD, from the department of pediatrics, Jordan University of Science and Technology, in Irbid, Jordan, the researchers measured haemoglobin concentration, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and plasma ferritin in 150 children.
Half of the children in the study had experienced a first febrile seizure, the other half had febrile illnesses without convulsions and were matched to the first group with respect to age and sex.
In the children with febrile seizures, mean ferritin levels were significantly lower than those without febrile convulsions. Also, the proportion of patients with a plasma ferritin level of 30 µg/L or less was significantly higher in the group with febrile seizures compared to the convulsion-free group.
Mean levels of haemoglobin concentration, corpuscular volume and corpuscular haemoglobin were also lower in the patients with febrile seizures compared to those without, but these differences did not reach statistical significance. Similarly, a higher proportion of patients with febrile seizures had a haemoglobin level under 110 g/L, a mean corpuscular volume under 72 fL, and mean corpuscular haemoglobin level under 24 pg compared with patients without febrile seizures. Again these differences were not statistically significant.
There were no differences between the two groups with respect to mean peak temperature upon admission, types of underlying illnesses and family history of epilepsy or febrile convulsions.
The authors conclude that the lower levels of plasma ferritin in patients with febrile seizures may suggest a role for iron insufficiency in febrile seizure disorders.
Epilepsia Volume 43 Issue 7 Page 740 - July 2002.
"Iron Status: A Possible Risk Factor for the First Febrile Seizure"
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