Effects of sodium valproate combined with levetiracetam in treatment of children epilepsy and its influences on serum S-100 and high mobility group box-1

Abstract

Objective: To explore the effects of sodium valproate combined with levetiracetam in the treatment of children epilepsy, and its influences on serum S-100 and high mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1) in children with epilepsy.

Methods: A total of 160 children who were diagnosed as epilepsy in Baogang Hospital of Inner Mongolia from July 2016 to October 2018 were selected as research objects. They were randomly divided into the study group (n = 80) and the control group (n = 80) by the random number table method, i.e., they were treated with sodium valproate combined with levetiracetam and sodium valproate alone, respectively. After 16 weeks of treatment, the effective rates of epileptic seizure treatment and the improvement of epileptiform discharge were evaluated, and chi-square test was used for statistical comparison. The related indicators, including serum tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-), hypersensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), homocysteine (Hcy), haematocrit (HCT), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), serum S-100 and HMGB-1, were measured before and after treatment. Paired t-test was used for the comparison in the above indicators within a group before and after treatment; group t-test was used for the comparison between two groups. Chi-square test was used for the comparison in the rate of adverse reactions during treatment between two groups. The study was approved by Ethics Committee of Baogang Hospital (Approval No.: BG201606073), and all children’s guardians were required to sign informed consent forms for clinical study. There were no statistically significant differences between two groups in general clinical data (p > .05), such as sex constituent ratio, age, the course of disease, the frequency of epileptic seizure per year before treatment, the incidence of epileptiform discharge before treatment and the constituent ratio of types of epileptic seizure, etc.

Results: 1) After treatment, the effective rates of epileptic seizure treatment and the improvement of epileptiform discharge in the study group were 92.5% (74/80) and 85.0% (68/80) respectively, which were both significantly higher than those in the control group [68.8% (55/80) and 58.8% (47/80)], and the differences were statistically significant (2 = 14.444, 13.635; p < .001). 2) In the study group, the levels of serum TNF-, hs-CRP and Hcy, as well as HCT and ESR after treatment were (53.1 ± 14.0) pg/ml, (5.0 ± 2.5) mg/L, (12.5 ± 3.1) μmol/L, (38.1 ± 5.1)% and (3.0 ± 0.5) mm/h respectively, which were all significantly lower than those [(107.9 ± 17.8) pg/ml, (10.1 ± 2.5) mg/L, (42.2 ± 5.8) μmol/L, (45.3 ± 4.5)% and (5.2 ± 0.6) mm/h] before treatment, and all the differences were statistically significant (t = 21.644, 12.902, 40.393, 9.468, 25.194; p < .001). In the control group, the levels of serum TNF-, hs-CRP and Hcy, as well as HCT and ESR after treatment were (60.6 ± 17.8) pg/ml, (8.2 ± 2.2) mg/L, (15.2 ± 3.1) μmol/L, (40.2 ± 3.4)% and (4.5 ± 0.6) mm/h respectively, which were all significantly lower than those [(112.4 ± 14.3) pg/ml, (9.3 ± 3.8) mg/L, (41.1 ± 2.8) μmol/L, (44.6 ± 5.5)% and (5.4 ± 0.8) mm/h] before treatment, and all the differences were statistically significant (t = 20.292, 2.241, 55.456, 3.320, 8.050; p < .05). After treatment, the above indicators in the study group were all significantly lower than those in the control group, and all the differences were statistically significant (t = 2.962, 8.595, 5.508, 3.064, 17.178; p < .05). 3) In the study group, the levels of serum S-100 and HMGB-1 after treatment were (0.65 ± 0.38) μg/L and (5.3 ± 2.4) μg/L respectively, which were significantly lower than those [(0.91 ± 0.32) μg/L and (8.1 ± 2.0) μg/L] before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (t = 4.681, 8.020; p < .001). In the control group, the levels of serum S-100 and HMGB-1 after treatment were (0.78 ± 0.27) μg/L and (6.4 ± 2.2) μg/L respectively, which were significantly lower than those [(0.88 ± 0.25) μg/L and (7.9 ± 1.7) μg/L] before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (t = 2.431, p = .016; t = 4.826, p < .001). After treatment, the levels of serum S-100 and HMGB-1 in the study group were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t = 2.495, p = .014; t = 2.840, p = .005). 4) There was no significant difference between two groups in the rate of adverse reactions, such as nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, dizziness, drowsiness, hepatic and renal injury during treatment (p > .05).

Conclusions: The efficacy of sodium valproate combined with levetiracetam is obviously better than that of sodium valproate alone in the treatment of children epilepsy. The children patients’ serum S-100 and HMGB-1 are more significantly reduced, resulting in a lower rate of adverse reactions, which has a certain clinical value.