ABSTRACT

[Abstract] Objective To explore the relationships between serum homocysteine (Hcy) and interleukin-17C (IL-17C) levels and depression as well as cognitive impairment in patients with epilepsy.
Methods A total of 105 patients with epilepsy admitted to our hospital from October 2022 to August 2025 were enrolled as the research subjects. The Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) was used to assess the severity of depression, and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was applied to evaluate cognitive function. According to the evaluation results, the patients were divided into epilepsy group, depression group, cognitive impairment group and comorbidity group. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between depression, cognitive impairment and serum Hcy, IL-17C levels.
Results Among the 105 patients with epilepsy, 56 cases were simple epilepsy, 12 cases were combined with depression, and 19 cases were cognitive impairment. Eighteen cases were combined with depression and cognitive impairment. The disease courses of the depression group, cognitive impairment group and comorbidity group were longer than those of the epilepsy group. The levels of Hcy and IL-17C were higher than those of the epilepsy group. Moreover, the disease course of the comorbidity group was longer and the levels of Hcy and IL-17C were higher (P<0.05). No statistically significant differences were observed in other clinical data (P>0.05). HAMD score was positively correlated with serum Hcy and IL-17C levels (P<0.05). MoCA score was negatively correlated with serum Hcy and IL-17C levels (P<0.05).
Conclusion  s The incidence of depression and cognitive impairment is high in patients with epilepsy, and depression and cognitive impairment are related to serum Hcy and IL-17C levels.

Key words: [Key words] Epilepsy; State of depression; Cognitive impairment; Homocysteine; Interleukin-17C.