Consecutive patients diagnosed with focal epilepsy of unknown cause (FEoUC) (n=47) or mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) (n=35) as per International League against Epilepsy classification criteria and healthy controls (n=47) were enrolled. Serum levels of inflammasome complex components (NLRP1, NLRP3, ASC, caspase-1), pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-10, IL-18), nuclear factor kappaB (NF-KB), HMGB1 and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) isoforms were measured with ELISA. NOA were investigated with cell-based assays.