Are some types of epilepsy forms of autoimmune disease?
Grant round winners 2008
Antibodies are molecules made by the immune
system whose purpose is to protect the body
from infections. Occasionally things go
wrong and the antibodies attack the body's
own tissue. Recognising and treating these
disorders early is important as this minimises
the damage caused by a prolonged attack.
Dr Bethan Lang at Department of
Clinical Neurology, University of Oxford
tested blood samples from patients with
epilepsy and in some of them found antibodies
to a number of brain proteins. The proteins
being targeted include an ion channel and
an enzyme involved with the production of
GABA, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter
in the brain. These are important components
of the way the brain communicates via electrical
signals.
Dr Lang, in collaboration with Dr Yvonne
Hart in Oxford and Dr Steven Howell in Sheffield,
has been awarded £55,258 over
12 months to screen blood samples from a
larger number of patients to find out what
proportion have these antibodies. She will
also screen for antibodies to other neurotransmitter
receptors which have previously been implicated
in epilepsy. The intention is to find out
what sorts of epilepsy are associated with
the presence of antibodies, and how these
types of epilepsy respond to treatment.
As part of her project Detection of autoantibodies
in patients with epilepsy, Dr Lang will
also devise ways to detect as yet unidentified
antibodies that may also be present.
If some types of epilepsy are indeed caused
by the presence of antibodies, then new
treatments for these types of epilepsy may
be possible. These would target the malfunction
in the immune system at the root of the
epilepsy rather than simply suppressing
seizures.
