Aims To study immunologic mechanisms of paroxysmal states in children with cerebral hypoxia-ischaemia and its consequences in the 1^st year of life.

Methods We performed prospective clinical-laboratory examination of 60 newborn babies and infants. The examined children were divided into 2 groups: the 1^st group was comprised of children with paroxysmal disorders (n = 40) born to mothers with high factors of perinatal risk. The 2^nd (control) group consisted of children born to healthy women with physiological course of gestation and labour (n = 20). The examination took place during neonatal period, at the age of 6 months and 1 year. Paroxysmal disorders were represented by the generalised tonic-clonic seizures, isolated focal seizures, focal seizures with secondary generalisation, myoclonias and atonic-astatic seizures. The population structure of lymphocytes of the peripheral blood was determined by means of phenotyping using Beckman Coulter Epics XL-II flow cytofluorometer according to the attached records.

Results It was revealed that prognostic indices of the origin of paroxysmal states in the examined group of children were the increase and progredient growth of the level of the activation markers of T-lymphocytes and receptors to IL–2: CD25⁺, CD95⁺, CD4⁺ CD122⁺, in the peripheral blood over the observation time. They were indicative of an active response of the immune system and cytokine balance shifting towards T-helper cells of the 1^st type.

Conclusion The development of paroxysmal disorders in children of the early age takes place with systemic disturbances of the mechanisms of immune response and it shows the advisability of further more thorough study of the immune status in the examined group of children.