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Three to 5 percent of children under five years are affected by febrile (fever-related) seizures. In most cases, the seizures do not lead to any permanent damage. Some studies, in which purine metabolites and pyrimidine bases in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured, have shown that cerebral metabolism is affected by prolonged seizures. Only one study has examined CSF changes in children who experienced short febrile seizures. The current study examined if the amounts of various purine metabolites and pyrimidine bases found in CSF are altered in children who have just suffered a simple febrile seizure (SFS). CSF samples were taken from 34 children suffering from fever who were brought to the hospital for emergency care. Eighteen of the children suffered a SFS no longer than 15 minutes prior to the sample being taken. The other 16 children did not suffer any seizures and thus served as control subjects. Concentrations of the various purine metabolites and pyrimidine bases in the CSF of the patients who suffered seizures were not significantly different from those in the CSF of the febrile patients who did not suffer seizures. None of the patients who suffered a seizure had psychomotor developmental problems at follow-up, which ranged from 6 to 37 months. The results indicate that simple febrile seizures do not significantly affect concentrations of various metabolites in CSF and thus have little, if any, effect on cerebral metabolism. Anticonvulsant therapy for such seizures may be unwise as the possible side effects of these drugs may pose more risk to the patient than the seizure itself. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)