Plasma aminoacid alterations in idiopathic generalized epilepsy: An investigation in probands and their first-degree relatives

Twenty-two plasma aminoacids were determined by means of ion-exchange chromatography in 16 previously untreated patients with generalized idiopathic epilepsy and in some of their first-degre relatives (26 subjects), and the results were compared with those obtained from a group of 50 healthy controls. The patients were subsequently treated with valproic acid for one month and then re-examined. In the epileptic subjects, statistical analysis showed significant alterations in the plasma levels of a group of aminoacids, including the four associated with neuro-transmission (aspartate, glutamate, glycine, taurine); aspartate, glutamate and glycine levels were also altered in the first-degree relatives. Valproic acid therapy did not affect aminoacid levels. If further confirmed, these alterations might be considered possible neurochemical markers of epilepsy.