ISSN:
1433-8491
Keywords:
Epilepsy
;
Prolactin
;
Psychogenic seizures
;
Differential diagnosis
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Summary In 20 healthy subjects (10 female and 10 male) and 17 patients undergoing presurgical epilepsy evaluation with intracranial EEG electrodes, circadian variations of serum prolactin (PRL) were measured. A comparison between the peak values found in normals with the postictal rises in patients, led us to consider 700 μU/ml to be the threshold of diagnostic value and the observed rises above this level to be all induced by seizures. In order to asses the clinical value of this threshold, PRL was measured postictally in a further 30 patients with epilepsy and in 11 patients with psychogenic seizures. In none of the latter group did PRL rises exceed 700 μU/ml, while they did so in 39% of the complex partial seizures and in 80% of the tonic-clonic seizures. There was no significant difference with respect to sex (a rise over 700 μU/ml in 42% in male and in 55% in female patients). Based on the findings in 17 patients investigated by means of intracranial electrodes, we were not able to establish different criteria for different focus localisations: in 66% of both temporal as well as frontal lobe seizures the 700 μU/ml level was exceeded. As a trend, in the period preceeding an epileptic seizure we found a slightly decreasing PRL level, whereas in healthy persons the PRL concentrations gradually increased in the 40 minutes before the maximum spontaneous peak was reached.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02191962
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