Nerve cells send electrical signals by
controlling the amounts of tiny charged
particles called ions inside them, moving
them in or out via pores in the cell wall
called ion channels. These are made up of
a number of different building blocks, called
subunits, which all have subtly different
properties. In different parts of the brain,
and in different types of cells, the same
channel may be made up of different subunits.
This allows very fine variations in function,
depending on what the cell is needed to
do.
One of the subunits in calcium channels
is called alpha2delta. The anti-epileptic
drugs gabapentin and pregabalin work by
interacting with this subunit, though exactly
how they do this and why this stops seizures
isn't understood. These drugs are also effective
against particular type of pain condition
caused by faulty nerve cells, where alpha2delta
subunits are known to be increased in abundance.
Are similar changes happening in epileptic
foci, the areas of the brain where seizures
start?
This study, by Professor Annette Dolphin
of the Department of Pharmacology, University
College London, will investigate whether
the number and spread of alpha2delta subunits
are changed in regions of the brain where
seizure activity develops. The researchers,
who were awarded £80,000 for
their 18 month study called Calcium channel
alpha2delta subunits in epilepsy, will
use microscopy and cell staining methods
to study these changes. This should illuminate
how epileptic foci develop, and also how
gabapentin and pregabalin work.
