PURPOSE Data are accumulating to support the involvement of inflammatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis and course of epilepsy. METHODS The aim of this study was to examine seizure-induced changes in plasma concentrations of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) in 23 patients with epilepsy undergoing a video-electroencephalography (E...

UNLABELLED Very little is known about the role of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-18 (IL-18) in urticaria. MATERIAL AND METHODS Serum levels of IL-1β, IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA), and IL-18 were measured in 56 children with urticaria and in 41 healthy subjects. RESULTS Serum IL-1β did not differ between children with acute urticaria and controls. Children with single episode of...

Chronic tophaceous gout is the end stage of gout. We employed a blockade of interleukin-6 signaling therapy by tocilizumab instead of anakinra, an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, for a 61-year-old Japanese woman diagnosed with tophaceous gout. Laboratory data showed that serum interleukin-6 concentration was elevated. Serum interleukin-1β concentration was under the detectable level, althoug...

Several recent studies have shown differences in the maternal immune milieu at different phases of pregnancy, but most studies have been cross-sectional or of relatively few time points. Levels of 42 cytokines were determined using a multiplex bead-based assay on archived serum from a cohort of pregnant women (N = 16) at median of 18 time points tested, from the first trimester through to partu...