The serum level of interleukin-6 in patients with intellectual disability and refractory epilepsy

SummaryWe aimed to study the influences of active epilepsy and intellectual disability (ID) on the serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) by determining levels in 74 patients with developmental disorder with epilepsy and 63 healthy controls. The patients showed significantly higher IL-6 levels than the controls (4.1 ± 4.5 pg/ml vs. 2.1 ± 1.0 pg/ml; p < 0.001). High seizure frequency and severe intellectual disability emerged as predictors for elevated serum levels of IL-6.