Blood test to determine seizure type

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A study shows that a simple blood test can determine whether or not someone has had an epileptic seizure.
There are different types of seizures - not all of which mean epilepsy. Now doctors at Stanford University, California, reveal that the level of the hormone prolactin may be indicative of the type of seizure and this can be measured by a simple blood test.

The level of prolactin in the blood goes up when someone has a generalized tonic-clonic seizure or a complex partial seizure. This may be because the pituitary gland in the brain releases prolactin, under the control of the hypothalamus. Epileptic seizures may affect the hypothalamus.

However, the test does not distinguish between epileptic seizures and a fainting condition called syncope because this too is accompanied by a rise in prolactin. Nevertheless, the test will distinguish epileptic seizures from those which are caused by mental illness or for no obvious reason - because these do not produce a rise in prolactin.

Source
Neurology 13th September 2005

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