Determination of Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic Levels and Their Relationship with Seizure Duration in Children with Simple Febrile Seizures

Abstract

Objective: Heavy metals may cause neuronal damage by inducing oxidative stress. This study aims to investigate the levels of mercury, cadmium, and arsenic in children with febrile seizures and their correlation with seizure duration. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 40 children who experienced simple febrile seizures and 30 children who had a fever but did not experience seizures. The study analyzed complete blood count, serum high-sensitive C-reactive protein, albumin, whole blood mercury, cadmium, and arsenic levels. The analysis was conducted six hours after the seizure for those who experienced seizures and six hours after the onset of fever for those who did not experience seizures. Results: Our study found that the patient group had significantly higher levels of arsenic in their blood compared to the control group. At the same time, there was no significant difference in the levels of mercury and cadmium. However, we could not establish any relationship between the seizure duration and the heavy metals levels. Conclusion: While mercury and cadmium levels are normal in children with simple febrile seizures, arsenic levels are high. However, the levels of all three heavy metals have no relationship with the duration of seizures.

Keywords

• Arsenic
• cadmium
• mercury
• simple febrile seizure

Basit Febril Nöbetli Çocuklarda Civa, Kadmiyum, Arsenik Düzeyleri ve Nöbet Süresi ile İlişkilerinin Belirlenmesi

Öz

Amaç: Ağır metallerin oksidatif stresi tetikleyerek nöronal hasara katkıda bulunmaları muhtemeldir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, basit febril nöbet geçiren çocuklarda civa, kadmiyum ve arsenik düzeylerinin saptanarak nöbet süresi ile ilişkilerinin belirlenmesidir. Materyal ve Metot: 40 basit febril nöbetli çocukta nöbet sonrası altıncı saatte, 30 ateşli ancak nöbeti olmayan çocukta ise ateş şikayetinin başlangıcından altı saat sonra tam kan sayımı, serum high sensitive c reaktif protein, albümin, tam kan civa, kadmiyum ve arsenik düzeyleri çalışılmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmamızda ağır metallerden civa ve kadmiyum kan düzeylerinde kontrol grubuna göre anlamlı fark bulunmazken, arsenik düzeyleri hasta grubunda anlamlı şekilde yüksek bulunmuştur. Ağır metallerin nöbet süresi ile ilişkisi saptanmamıştır. Sonuç: Basit febril nöbetli çocuklarda civa ve kadmiyum düzeyleri normal iken arsenik düzeyleri yüksektir. Ancak her üç ağır metal düzeyinin de nöbet süresi ile ilişkisi bulunmamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Arsenik
• basit febril nöbet
• civa
• kadmiyum

Kaynakça

1. Biltz S, Speltz L. Febrile seizures. Pediatr Ann. 2023;52(10):e388-e393. doi:10.3928/19382359-20230829-03
2. Smith DK, Sadler KP, Benedum M. Febrile seizures: Risks, Evaluation, and prognosis. Am Fam Physician. 2019;99(7):445-450.
3. Gupta A. Febrile Seizures. Continuum (Minneap Minn). 2016;22:51-59
4. Postnikova TY, Griflyuk AV, Zhigulin AS, et al. Febrile seizures cause a rapid depletion of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors at the synapses of principal neurons in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus of the rat. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(16):12621. doi:10.3390/ijms241612621
5. Parsons ALM, Bucknor EMV, Castroflorio E, Soares TR, Oliver PL, Rial D. The interconnected mechanisms of oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in epilepsy. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022;11(1):157. doi:10.3390/antiox11010157
6. Aguilera A, Distéfano A, Jauzein C, et al. Do photosynthetic cells communicate with each other during cell death? From cyanobacteria to vascular plants. J Exp Bot. 2022;73(22):7219-7242.
7. Güneş S, Dirik E, Yiş U, et al. Oxidant status in children after febrile seizures. Pediatr Neurol. 2009;40:47-49.
8. Valko M, Morris H, Cronin MT. Metals, toxicity and oxidative stress. Curr Med Chem. 2005;12:1161-1208.

9. Jomova K, Jenisova Z, Feszterova M, et al. Arsenic: toxicity, oxidative stress and human disease. J Appl Toxicol. 2011;31:95-107.
10. Gupta VK, Singh S, Agrawal A, Siddiqi NJ, Sharma B. Phytochemicals Mediated Remediation of Neurotoxicity Induced by Heavy Metals. Biochem Res Int. 2015;2015:534769. doi:10.1155/2015/534769
11. Boguszewska A, Pasternak K. Cadmium--influence on biochemical processes of the human organism. Ann Univ Mariae Curie Sklodowska Med. 2004;59:519-523.
12. Ercal N, Gurer-Orhan H, Aykin-Burns N. Toxic metals and oxidative stress part I: mechanisms involved in metal-induced oxidative damage. Curr Top Med Chem. 2001;1:529-1539.
13. Tinkov AA, Nguyen TT, Santamaria A, et al. Sirtuins as molecular targets, mediators, and protective agents in metal-induced toxicity. Arch Toxicol. 2021;95(7):2263-2278.
14. Buffet PE, Zalouk-Vergnoux A, Poirier L et al. Cadmium sulfide quantum dots induce oxidative stress and behavioral impairments in the marine clam Scrobicularia plana. Environ Toxicol Chem. 2015;34(7):1659-1664.
15. Ates I, Suzen HS, Aydin A and Karakaya A: The oxidative DNA base damage in testes of rats after intraperitoneal cadmium injection. Biometals. 2004;17:371-377.
16. Shanker G, Aschner JL, Syversen T, Aschner M. Free radical formation in cerebral cortical astrocytes in culture induced by methylmercury. Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 2004;128(1):48-57.
17. Amara S, Douki T, Garrel C, et al. Effects of static magnetic field and cadmium on oxidative stress and DNA damage in rat cortex brain and hippocampus. Toxicol Ind Health. 2011;27:99-106.
18. Seo JS, Yoo DY, Jung HY, et al. Effects of Dendropanax morbifera Léveille extracts on cadmium and mercury secretion as well as oxidative capacity: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Biomed Rep. 2016;4:623-662.
19. Dufault R, Schnoll R, Lukiw WJ, et al. Mercury exposure, nutritional deficiencies and metabolic disruptions may affect learning in children. Behav Brain Funct. 2009;5:44. doi:10.1186/1744-9081-5-44
20. Fujimura M, Usuki F. Cellular conditions responsible for methylmercury-mediated neurotoxicity. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(13):7218. doi:10.3390/ijms23137218
21. Prince LM, Aschner M, Bowman AB. Human-induced pluripotent stems cells as a model to dissect the selective neurotoxicity of methylmercury. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2019;1863(12):129300. doi:10.1016/j.bbagen.2019.02.002
22. Yang B, Yin C, Zhou Y, et al. Curcumin protects against methylmercury-induced cytotoxicity in primary rat astrocytes by activating the Nrf2/ARE pathway independently of PKCδ. Toxicology. 2019;425:152248. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2019.152248
23. Ni W, Huang Y, Wang X, Zhang J. & Wu, K.. Associations Of Neonatal Lead, Cadmium, Chromium and Nickel Co-Exposure With Dna Oxidative Damage İn An Electronic Waste Recycling Town. Sci Total Environ. 2014;472:354-362.
24. Moynihan M, Peterson KE, Cantoral A, et al. Dietary predictors of urinary cadmium among pregnant women and children. Sci Total Environ. 2017;575:1255-1262.
25. Hwang IC, Ahn HY. High cadmium levels in individuals with depressive mood: Results from the 2008-2013 Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey. Iran J Public Health. 2021;50(8):1595-1602.
26. Yoshida S. Re-evaluation of acute neurotoxic effects of Cd2+ on mesencephalic trigeminal neurons of the adult rat. Brain Res. 2001;892(1):102-110.
27. Galán A, García-Bermejo L, Troyano A, et al. The role of intracellular oxidation in death induction (apoptosis and necrosis) in human promonocytic cells treated with stress inducers (cadmium, heat, X-rays). Eur J Cell Biol. 2001;80(4):312-320.