Inflammatory biomarkers in epilepsy

Abstract

Epilepsy affects millions of people worldwide and has a great burden on world health. Improvement of seizure outcomes mostly relies on establishment of individualized risk factors for epileptogenesis and drug resistance. Several circulating molecules could serve as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers at different stages of the disease. Inflammatory markers, blood-brain barrier markers, oxidative stress markers, microRNAs, autoantibodies, hormones and growth factors are promising fields of research for biomarkers in epilepsy. Several experimental studies and only a few clinical studies have revealed associations between inflammatory biomarkers and clinical outcomes of epilepsy. Herein, we detail the clinical and immunological significance of several factors of inflammation that may in due time serve as biomarkers of epilepsy in an effort to potentially inspire the researchers towards the development of reliable prognostic biomarkers for epilepsy.