Purpose: The gamma-aminobutyric acid A receptor, gamma 2 (GABRG2) gene encodes the GABRγ2 protein, which has been implicated in susceptibility to epilepsy. Several studies have examined a possible link between the exonic GABRG2 rs211037 locus and susceptibility to febrile seizure (FS) and idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE), however results have been inconclusive. We therefore performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine whether this polymorphism is associated with FS or IGE.
Methods: Eight studies comprising 1871 epilepsy patients and 1387 controls, which evaluated association of the GABRG2 rs211037 polymorphism with susceptibility to epilepsy, were included in this meta-analysis. Meta-analysis was carried out separately for FS and IGE.
Results: Meta-analysis showed a significant association between this polymorphism and susceptibility to FS in a codominant (TT vs. CC, OR 0.47, 95% CI 0.30-0.73, p=0.0008 and TT vs. CT, OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.42-0.83, p=0.003) and dominant (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.39-0.75, p=0.0002) genetic models, influenced by two studies with small sample size. Neither allele nor genotype association was observed with IGE.
Conclusion: This study showed significant association of GABRG2 rs211037 with susceptibility to FS, caused by two studies with small sample sizes, however the possibility of false positive results due to the effect of significant studies for FS cannot be excluded. Future studies with larger sample sizes of these patients are suggested to verify the results.
Copyright © 2012 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.