Interictal serum S100B levels in chronic neurocysticercosis and idiopathic epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE To assess whether serum S100B levels could reflect a glial response in patients with epilepsy secondary to neurocysticercosis (NCC) and with idiopathic epilepsy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Serum S100B levels were measured using an immunoluminometric assay in 20 patients with focal epilepsy related to chronic NCC (NCC group), and 19 patients with focal epilepsy (EPI group), matched by epidemiological and clinical data. Epileptic patients were compared with 20 healthy controls (CON group) matched by age and sex. RESULTS No difference was observed in S100B levels among NCC, EPI and CON groups (P>0.39). Serum S100B levels were not affected by antiepileptic drugs, frequency and type of seizures. Preliminarily, significantly higher levels of S100B were observed in patients with bilateral electroencephalographic (EEG) findings than in patients with unilateral and normal EEG findings (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Serum S100B is normal in patients with focal epilepsy related or not to chronic NCC.