Here's an intriguing new study about ghrelin and seizures (go figure), showing that people with epilepsy have significantly higher serum ghrelin levels than healthy individuals. The authors propose that high ghrelin levels may indicate a predisposition to seizure activity.
Given the recent study showing that ghrelin can influence neuronal connections in the hippocampus, this may not be as strange as it sounds on first pass (Ghrelin controls hippocampal spine synapse density and memory performance, Nat Neurosci 2006, Horvath, which I posted a couple of weeks ago). Another potential link: high ghrelin is found in sleep deprived individuals (and is capable of prolonging non-REM sleep). Sleep deprivation (decreased REM sleep) increases susceptibility to seizures (there’s a chicken and the egg question there).
It's worth noting that ghrelin is not the only hormone that has been reported to be different in patients with epilepsy. Also, the finding of elevated ghrelin levels in epilepsy will need to be confirmed by additional studies (it is a small study group, and the patients were on anti-seizure meds, which might confound the results). Nevertheless, I found it a very interesting link, perhaps with relevance to PWS.
Serum ghrelin levels are enhanced in patients with epilepsy.
Berilgen MS, Mungen B, Ustundag B, Demir C. Seizure. 2006 Mar;15(2):106-11.
