Association of Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (rs6265) Gene Polymorphism with Susceptibility to Epilepsy

Objective: This study aimed to measure serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) levels in Egyptian children with epilepsy, to calculate the frequencies of BDNF gene polymorphisms to elucidate their usefulness as biomarkers for diagnosing epilepsy and assessing drug response.Methods: Serum BDNF and nNOS levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 60 epileptic children as well as in 30 healthy children of the same age and sex.The BDNF rs6265 polymorphism was evaluated by genomic TaqMan genotyping. Results:The genotyping distribution of the BDNF gene did not differ significantly between the controls and epileptic cases.The homozygous (G/G) responded to treatment far better.Mean serum BDNF was substantially less than the controls.However, children with epilepsy had considerably higher mean serum nNOS concentration.Conclusion: BDNF genotypes have a big impact on responsiveness to therapy.In epileptic children, the mechanism of epileptogenesis is influenced by serum BDNF and nNOS.