Sodium valproate combined with levetiracetam in pediatric epilepsy and its influence on NSE, IL-6, hs-CRP and electroencephalogram improvement

Efficacy of sodium valproate combined with levetiracetam (LEV) in pediatric epilepsy and its influence on neuron-specific enolase (NSE), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) as well as electroencephalogram (EEG) improvement were studied. Patients (n=100) with pediatric epilepsy admitted to and treated in Xiantao First People's Hospital Affiliated to Yangtze University from December 2015 to 2018 were enrolled in this study and randomly divided into observation group (n=50) and control group (n=50). Sodium valproate was administered in the control group, and the treatment with LEV was combined with sodium valproate in the observation group. After 12 weeks the cognitive function of patients was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scale, Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) scale and Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised in China (WMS-RC). The quality of life (QOL) of patients was evaluated with the QOL in epilepsy-31 inventory (QOLIE-31) scale and Barthel Index, and blood was drawn from the patients to detect the neurological function indicators [NSE and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)] and inflammatory indicators (IL-6, IL-2 and hs-CRP). After treatment, the incidence rates of adverse reactions notably declined in the observation group (P<0.05), and the improvement in the cognitive function in the observation group were both superior to those in the control group (P<0.05). Observation group had lowered content of NSE, GFAP, IL-6, hs-CRP and IL-2 (P<0.05), and α wave was markedly decreased, but θ and δ waves were notably increased in the observation group (P<0.05). In the treatment of pediatric epilepsy, sodium valproate combined with LEV produces better efficacy, fewer adverse reactions, significantly improves patients' QOL and notably lowers the content of NSE, IL-6 and hs-CRP with notable EEG improvement, so it is a safe and reliable treatment that is worth popularization.