Association Between Ferroptosis and Epilepsy
Condition: Epilepsy
MeSH terms: Epilepsy
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders seen in children, often characterized
      by recurring seizures. Nearly 10.5 million children worldwide are estimated to have active
      epilepsy. Children with epilepsy are more likely to have developmental health and
      developmental comorbidities such as depression, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity
      disorder, learning disabilities, and developmental delay compared to children without
      epilepsy. Status epilepticus (SE) is the most common life-threatening emergency neurological
      emergency in children and leads to hippocampal neuronal cell death. The animal model proved
      SE-induced neuronal cell death in hippocampal CA1 and CA3 regions. Classical drugs like
      carbamazepine or phenytoin often cause behavioral problems and side effects such as unsteady
      gait, depression, and irritability. In addition, classical medicine did not protect cognitive
      function and preferred to drive drug-resistant. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a novel
      therapy to treat epilepsy. Ferroptosis is a new type of cell death, usually accompanied by a
      large amount of iron accumulation and lipid peroxidation. It is widely accepted that
      glutamate-mediated neuronal hyperexcitation plays a causative role in eliciting seizures, and
      cystine/glutamate antiporter inhibition induces ferroptosis. Hence, investigators hypothesize
      GPX4 dependent ferroptosis pathway may play a key role in eliciting seizures.
    

Detailed description: 
      To investigate the possible association between GPX4 dependent ferroptosis pathway and
      epilepsy. Investigators first obtained gene expression of GSE25453 from GEO
      (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo), which contained ten medial temporal lobe epilepsy and ten
      adjacent non-seizure region tissues. Then, investigators further the possible association
      between GPX4 dependent ferroptosis pathway and epilepsy in school-aged children.
      Investigators obtained peripheral blood from 20 newly diagnosed untreated school-aged
      children (6 -12 years) and 20 age-matched healthy controls. Three glutathione peroxidase 4
      (GPX4）dependent ferroptosis pathway biomarkers were investigated: Solute Carrier Family 7
      Member 11（SLC7A11), GPX4, tumor protein 53 (P53). Western blot and Rt-qPCR were used to
      investigate the possible changes in these three biomarkers.
    

Intervention name(s): SLC7A11, GPX4, P53
Intervention type(s): Genetic
Intervention description(s): Obtained patients or healthy controls peripheral blood , used Western blot and Rt-qPCR to investigate the possible difference between two groups
Observational model: Case-Control
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        school-aged children who admitted to our hospital from Jan 20, 2021 to Jan 1, 2022
      
Biospecimen description: 
      school-aged children peripheral blood
    
Keywords: school-aged children; ferroptosis; epilepsy; GPX4