ArticleScientific reports2025
Untargeted metabolomics reveals key metabolic alterations in pediatric epilepsy with insights into Tryptophan metabolism and the gut-brain axis.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Metabolic reprogramming of endothelial-related pathways in COVID-19 patients treated with hyperbaric oxygen therapy: a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- The beneficial properties of CBDA in diet-induced neuroinflammation.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Article
- Review
- Metabolomic Profiling of Plasma in Children with Drug-Resistant Epilepsy: The Effect of the Ketogenic Diet on Energy and Amino Acid Pathways.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Glioma region-specific metabolites associated with patient seizures.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2026Article
- Canine Idiopathic Epilepsy as a Natural Animal Model for Human Epilepsy: A Scoping Review Highlighting Metabolic Perspectives Beyond the Brain.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Phenotype-Aligned Metabolomics Identifies Plasma Arginine as a Candidate Predictor of Delayed Cerebral Ischemia after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.Translational stroke research · 2026Article
- Metabolic Alterations Induced by a Seizure-Causing Sodium Channel Mutation and their Partial Normalization by Dietary α-Linolenic Acid in Drosophila.Neurochemical research · 2026Article
- Mass Spectrometry-Based Metabolomics in Pediatric Health and Disease.Metabolites · 2026Review
- The associations between epilepsy, metabolism, and their clinical implications.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2026Review
- Decoding astrocytic tryptophan metabolism in the pathogenesis of epilepsy: evidence from artificial intelligence-driven multi-omics and clinical validation.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Modulation of Gut Microbiome and Metabolome as One of the Potential Mechanisms of Ketogenic Diet Effect in the Treatment of Epilepsy.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Effects of a Gain-of-Function Mutation in the Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Gene, and of Dietary α-Linolenic Acid Supplementation, on Whole-Body Metabolism in Drosophila.Research square · 2025Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
The biochemical processes of childhood-onset epilepsy remain unclear, with no reliable biomarkers for prognosis or management. Untargeted plasma metabolomics offers a valuable approach to uncover underlying pathomechanisms and identify actionable biomarkers. In this study, plasma samples from 18 pediatric patients with epilepsy and 11 age-matched healthy controls were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods and pathway enrichment analysis. Multivariate analyses demonstrated separation between the patient and control groups. A total of 19 endogenous metabolites (VIP > 1, adjusted p < 0.05) emerged as key differentiators. Compared with controls, patients exhibited significant reductions in tryptophan (Trp), 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), several gut microbiota-derived metabolites, including indole, indoxyl sulfate, and p-cresyl sulfate, as well as in niacin metabolism end-products - N1-Methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide (Met2PY) and N1-Methyl-4-pyridone-3-carboxamide (Met4PY). In addition, patients showed decreased levels of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates, concomitant with an increase in fatty acid derivatives and N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac). The most substantially altered metabolic pathways in epilepsy patients involved the TCA cycle, vitamin A and C metabolism, prostaglandin synthesis, and D4/E4-neuroprostane formation. Observed alterations in tryptophan and microbiota-derived metabolites suggest gut dysbiosis may contribute to epilepsy development through the gut-brain axis. Moreover, the circulatory metabolic markers indicating an energy deficit and oxidative stress underscore the systemic impact of seizure activity.
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