Serum cytokine levels are altered in patients with West syndrome.

The objective of this study is to explore the neuroimmunomodulator effect of interleukin (IL)-2, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interferon (IFN)-alpha in West syndrome (WS). Twenty-three cases of WS (13 males and 10 females, aged 4-14 months old) who first visited and consisted from 10 cryptogenic and 13 symptomatic, were enrolled in this study. Double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum IL-2, TNF-alpha and IFN-alpha levels in 23 patients with WS and the data were compared to those of 15 healthy infants who were matched with regard to age and sex. Levels of all three cytokines were significantly higher in both cryptogenic and symptomatic WS groups than the control group. Serum IL-2 levels in symptomatic WS were significantly higher than that in cryptogenic WS. There was a positive correlation between IL-2 and TNF-alpha in both cryptogenic and symptomatic WS groups. The immune systems of patients with WS are in an activated state. An imbalance in cytokine levels may be involved in the immunopathology of WS.