IL-6 in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy development

Bárbara Guerra Leal, PhD, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, discusses a study investigating interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) patients and the role of rs1800875 polymorphism in epilepsy susceptibility. A total of 212 MTLE patients diagnosed with Hippocampal Sclerosis and 143 healthy controls were included in the study. Rs1800795 genotypic and allelic frequencies were similar in MTLE patients and controls. Noteworthy, MTLE- patients had higher IL-6 expression in the hippocampus and neocortical tissue compared to controls. These results suggest that IL-6 overexpression is not genetically determined but may induce seizures. This interview took place during the XXV World Congress of Neurology.