Epilepsy is a disease characterized by recurrent, episodic, and transient central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction resulting from an excessive synchronous discharge of brain neurons. It is characterized by diverse etiology, complex pathogenesis, and difficult treatment. In addition, most epileptic patients exhibit social
cognitive impairment and psychological impairment.
Iron is an essential
trace element for human growth and development and is also involved in a variety of redox reactions in organisms. However, abnormal
iron metabolism is associated with several
neurological disorders, including hemorrhagic post-
stroke epilepsy and
post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE). Moreover, ferroptosis is also considered a new form of regulation of cell death, which is attributed to severe lipid peroxidation caused by the production of
reactive oxygen species (ROS) and
iron overload found in various neurological diseases, including
epilepsy. Therefore, this review summarizes the study on
iron metabolism and ferroptosis in
epilepsy, in order to elucidate the correlation between
iron and
epilepsy. It also provides a novel method for the treatment, prevention, and research of
epilepsy, to control epileptic
seizures and reduce nerve injury after the epileptic seizure.