Memory decline in patients with temporal lobe
epilepsy - could it be stopped?
Despite years of research into the causes
of epilepsy and the treatment of seizures,
little attention has been paid to the causes
of memory loss and depression in patients
with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the commonest
drug resistant form of epilepsy in adults.
Patients with TLE often show progressing
memory loss over a period of years.
We know that growing new brain cells in
the hippocampus (the part of the brain most
concerned with memory) is important to maintaining
memory function, particularly spatial memory.
Normally this process, called neurogenesis,
continues throughout life. However in brains
affected by epilepsy, neurogenesis does
not happen, or only happens at a reduced
rate.
This study will test the theory that reduced
growth of new brain cells is the cause of
reduced memory in TLE. Professor William
Gray and colleagues at the University
of Southampton, who have been awarded £60,515
over three years, will investigate the relationship
between memory decline and reduced rate
of neurogenesis, and how this is affected
by the presence of epilepsy. The study,
entitled "Does restoration of neurogenesis
in chronic TLE improve spatial learning?"
will also investigate whether this process
can be reversed: whether administering a
drug that increases neurogenesis can improve
spatial memory function.
If this drug intervention is possible,
this would be the first exciting step towards
a new treatment for a debilitating aspect
of chronic epilepsy for many patients.
