Serum and urine boron and selenium levels in children with resistant epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE To determine the role of serum and urine selenium, and boron levels in children with resistant epilepsy. METHODS Serum and urine boron and selenium levels were studied in 53 cases (32 boys and 21 girls) diagnosed with resistant epilepsy between April 2006 and February 2007 at the Department of Pediatric Neurology, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Turkey. Differences between groups were assessed using Student's t-test. Countable data were defined as percentage. Inter-group difference was assessed by Chi-square test. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS When serum and urine boron and selenium levels were evaluated and compare with controls, a statistically significant difference was found in serum selenium, urine selenium, and urine boron levels (p<0.05). No significant difference was found in serum boron levels (p>0.05). CONCLUSION It was observed that there is a need for selenium supplementation in treatment of patients with resistant epilepsy, while no etiologic role is observed for boron.