Blood test records seizure activity

[Bernard]

A blood test measuring levels of a hormone called prolactin can help determine whether a person has suffered an epileptic seizure, experts conclude.

The new American Academy of Neurology guideline on the test is published in the current issue of Neurology.

The expert authors reviewed all available scientific evidence on the use of the prolactin blood test to diagnose epileptic seizures. They concluded that the blood test can be useful in distinguishing epileptic seizures from seizures caused by mental illness among adults and older children.

The blood test must be used within 10 to 20 minutes following a seizure. It's able to identify types of epileptic seizures called generalized tonic-clonic seizures and complex partial seizures. The level of prolactin the blood increases after these types of seizures.

Blood Test Helps Spot Epileptic Seizure

[Birdbomb]

OMG That is a great find! I'm gonna steal that link and post it on my board!

Kudos Bernard!

There is a lady in my support group who had been dignosed with pseudoseizures. She was very angry at being labeled a "nutbag" If this test is readily available to ERs then many more mental health issues will be discovered.

[Bernard]

This may help quite a few people who have difficulties getting seizures recorded on EEGs and MRIs to validate their experiences.

[doihaveepilepsy]

when i had 2/3 seizures while out i didnt wake up and ended up in the intensive care unit on a life support machine (it was soo scary when i woke up) i got my blood results back and one of the things they tested for was my prolactin levels, it said on the blood test report that my prolactin levels were elevated (and next too this in brackets it said consistent with fitting)
i havent yet been diagnosed with epilepsy, well i have but then i was told it wasnt E it was non-epileptic seizures, now thay think it may be epilepsy again!! soo frustrating.
i just read your post on the prolactin levels and epileptic fits and though i would post a reply x

[Bernard]

It's good to hear that they are starting to put this test to use.

[RobinN]

Yes I read this in an article about a year ago and saw that Rebecca's prolactin levels were tested and they were high. Curious if it would still be high if the seizure was triggered by a heart, or vitamin imbalance.

I had trouble with the link Bernard.

[brain]

Is Prolactin a Clinically Useful Measure of Epilepsy? From the American Epilepsy Society / PubMed

On the basis of these studies, the subcommittee felt confident to conclude that if prolactin can be measured 10 to 20 minutes after an event, then it probably can be a useful measure to differentiate between a generalized tonic–clonic seizure or complex partial seizure and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures. However, if the serum prolactin test is taken 6 hours after the event, then it is probably indicative of the baseline prolactin level of that patient. A blood test that has to be taken 10 to 20 minutes after a seizure means that the patient would have to have a seizure in front of a doctor or already be in the hospital, which obviously creates practical problems. Moreover, a normal prolactin level does not exclude a diagnosis of epilepsy or establish a diagnosis of psychogenic seizures because of its low assay sensitivity. Complicating matters even further, some patients with epilepsy also can have psychogenic seizures.

[brain]

Prolactin changes after seizures classified by EEG monitoring - From Neurology

ABSTRACT:

Kenneth D. Laxer, MD, John P. Mullooly, PhD and Beth Howell, MD

Department of Clinical Neurophysiology (Drs. Laxer and Howell), Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center, and The Health Services Research Center (Dr. Mullooly), Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Portland, OR.

We examined the postictal hyperprolactinemia after seizures classified by EEG and video telemetry. Prolactin did rise after complex partial seizures that involved motor behaviors and was not further increased by secondary generalization. Nontemporal partial seizures or pseudoseizures did not demonstrate this increase. There was no difference in prolactin elevation after generalized tonic-clonic seizures, whether secondarily generalized or generalized from onset. A discriminant function accurately classified 94% of patients with pseudoseizures and 66% of patients with true cerebral seizures for an overall classification accuracy of 72%.

[brain]

New Blood Test May Detect Epileptic Seizures
Hormone Test May Help Diagnose Epilepsy - WebMD

New Blood Test May Detect Epileptic Seizures
Hormone Test May Help Diagnose Epilepsy

By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD

An epilepsy blood test measures the amount of the hormone prolactin in the blood. It helps determine whether a seizure was caused by epilepsy or another disorder.

Researchers reviewed all of the published studies on the prolactin blood test and found it may be useful in certain situations in determining whether an epileptic seizure occurred in adults and older children with unexplained seizures.

The test, which must be used within 10 to 20 minutes after a seizure, measures levels of the hormone prolactin in the blood. Prolactin is produced by the pituitary gland, but an area of the brain called the hypothalamus controls its release.

Researchers say epileptic seizures are thought to affect the hypothalamus and may alter the release of prolactin, causing levels of the hormone to rise.


New Test for Epileptic Seizures

In the study, which appears in the journal Neurology, researchers evaluated eight studies on the prolactin blood test.

The results showed that the test could accurately identify seizures in adults and older children and distinguish them from nonseizure type episodes. Levels of prolactin in the blood increase after seizures but not during nonseizure activity.

Researchers found the test was useful at differentiating epileptic seizures from those caused by mental problems. But they say the test cannot distinguish epileptic seizures from those caused by a fainting episode because prolactin levels also rise after these types of seizures.

Therefore, the guidelines say the test may be appropriate as a secondary test, especially in cases when EEG (electroencephalography, a technology used to analyze seizures) is not available.

More research is also needed to determine whether the prolactin blood test is suitable for young children.

[brain]

I had trouble with the link Bernard.

I posted more links below
in regards to it, the original link
Bernard posted went poof. So
I found alternatives instead.

[doihaveepilepsy]

well i will mention the prolactin levels to my new dr when i finally get an appointment, drs think i may have epilepsy although i havent yet been diagnosed, but they think that i may have also had non-epileptic seizures too which i experienced while in hospital, because there was no abnormal eeg recording, however these seizures were difeerent from others that i have had and am now currently experiencing.
i do not no how soon my blood was taken for prolactin levels but i imagine that it was pretty quick although i did have the ambulance journey, i was taken straight thru to the resucitation area where there were drs waiting to traet me because i was very uncontious and non responding.

i have had a abnormal eeg to but the abnormalities were non specific (slowin on the eeg apparently) not too sure what this means tho.

from what i have read about nead i really dont think that is what my seizures are although i do agree that maybe the ones when i was in hosp were,
if a seizure is drug induced will the eeg be normal or abnormal (when i say drug induced i mean prescription drugs ha)

[Bernard]

I fixed the original link. It was a press release that was published on many sites. I am not going to post to Yahoo! News in the forums any more. They don't archive their news pages.

[Zoe]

Hi Birdy,
Tell your friend to also do a google on "metabolic acidosis" and "behavior". This could be something that might cause her to have seizures or "seizure-like" symptoms. Also re-read all the posts on kindling and how seizure disorders can develop over time. Maybe this applies to her situation.