Risk of epilepsy in rheumatoid arthritis: a meta-analysis of population based studies and bioinformatics analysis

Abstract

Background: An increasing number of studies support an association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and brain disorders. This study aims to determine the association between RA and epilepsy. Methods: A comprehensive search of databases in both English and Chinese was performed. Data from the selected studies were extracted and analyzed independently by two authors. Genes associated with epilepsy and RA were also collected and analyzed. Results: We included six nationwide population based studies ( n = 7,094,113 cases in total) for the meta-analysis. The risk of epilepsy was increased in RA patients [risk ratio (RR) = 1.601; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.089–2.354; p = 0.017; n = 3,803,535 cases] and children born to mothers with RA (RR = 1.475; 95% CI: 1.333–1.633; p < 0.001, n = 3,290,578 cases). Subgroup analysis and meta-regression showed the RR of epilepsy in RA was negatively correlated with age. Furthermore, we found that 433 identified genes in a coexpression network from the hippocampi of 129 epileptic patients were enriched in the RA and related Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, while 13 genes (mainly related to inflammatory cytokines and chemokines) were identified as potential key genes bridging the RA and epilepsy. Conclusions: Our study, utilizing meta-analysis and bioinformatical data, highlights a close association between epilepsy and RA. Further studies are still warranted to expand these findings, especially for a population that is exposed to RA during fetal and childhood periods.

Causal relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and epilepsy in a European population: a univariate and multivariate Mendelian randomization study

“…In addition, a meta-analysis emphasized that patients with RA have a higher risk of epilepsy than non-RA patients, and there was a negative correlation with age. This study also found 13 genes related to inflammatory factors that showed overlapping expression in RA and epilepsy patients ( 19 ). However, an early cross-sectional study reported that RA was uncommon in patients with epilepsy ( 21 ).…”

Intracranial rheumatoid nodule causing recurrent transient neurological deficits

“…Patients with rheumatoid meningitis and vasculitis usually respond quickly to treatment with systemic immunosuppression. In addition to vasculitis and meningitis, patients with rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk of cerebrovascular events,10 seizures11 and dementia 12…”

The relation of fibromyalgia and fibromyalgia symptoms to self-reported seizures

“…Therefore, the associations demonstrated in this study may not hold in the general population. A recent meta-analysis of six nationwide population-based studies showed a pooled epilepsy prevalence of 0.83% in RA patients versus 0.44% in non-RA patients, resulting in a risk ratio for epilepsy of 1.601 (95% CI 1.089 to 2.354) in RA vs. non-RA [46]. Consequently, the seizure odds ratio of 3.54 for FM+ patients found in the current study may be an underestimation of the actual association between FM diagnosis and seizures in general non-RA populations, but this speculation needs to be confirmed in general population studies.…”