Abstract
Background and aims: Temporal lobe and tonic-clonic seizures are the most common types of epilepsy. It is a disease that disrupts the
regulation of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. The disturbance in the regulation of this axis affects the secretion of hormones
from the anterior pituitary. Due to the different origins of these 2 types of epilepsy listed above, this study aimed to examine their differences
in the level of anterior pituitary hormones.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Al-Zahra hospital of Isfahan, Iran, from 2014 to 2016. A total of 36 patients with the
idiopathic first seizure were selected for the examination including 20 patients with tonic-clonic seizure and 16 patients with temporal
lobe seizure. The diagnosis of epilepsy was confirmed by a neurologist along with electroencephalogram (EEG) findings. The levels of
anterior pituitary hormones including thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), GH (growth hormone),
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH) and PRL (prolactin) were measured and compared using ELISA method in
both groups.
Results: The results indicated that all the anterior pituitary hormones except TSH and ACTH had higher means in the temporal lobe epilepsy
than in the tonic-clonic epilepsy, but a significant difference (mean ± SD) was reported only in GH (4.59±2.95) (2.55±1.87) (P<0.005) and
FSH (19.4±14.06) (4.34±2.37) (P<0.033) respectively in the temporal lobe and tonic-clonic seizures. Meanwhile, there was a significant
relationship between seizure, regardless of its type, and the level of growth hormone and FSH.
Conclusion: In the future, hormonal changes may be used as an adjunct to diagnose the type of epilepsy. More studies are required to
confirm the findings.