A new study, published in the  American Journal of Human Genetics, sheds light onto how variations in genes can influence the activity of important proteins in the brain and may lead to neurological disorders. The study focused on two genes called GRIN2A and GRIN2B, which are linked to epilepsy, intellectual disability and a number of other neurological conditions. These genes encode for two read more

Researchers at the University of Colorado have identified a new biomarker that could predict the onset and progression of seizures associated with epilepsy. Biomarkers are substances found in the blood or urine that can indicate a biological state or a medical condition. They are invaluable in helping clinicians diagnose or predict the progression of a condition and measure how well read more

A new study, conducted by researchers at Duke University and the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, could shed light on how certain types of epilepsy develop in the brain. This in turn could help scientists find new approaches to treat the condition. The study is published in the leading scientific journal, Nature. Co-Senior Author, Dr James McNamara, at Duke University, read more

EAST syndrome is a genetic condition that includes epilepsy, lack of voluntary muscle coordination including gait abnormality, deafness caused by hearing nerve problems and salt loss caused by kidney problems. It can result from a number of changes (mutations) in a gene called KCNJ10, which encodes a type of potassium ion channel. The mutations cause the channels to lose their function. Although there are 14 different mutations associated read more

Increasing the levels of certain fat molecules in the brain could suppress epileptic seizures, according to a new ground-breaking study carried out by two collaborating groups in Belgium. The work is published in the leading scientific journal, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. The team focused their efforts on a protein called TBC1D24, since mutations in the gene that encodes it cause severe epilepsy. read more

A panel of international researchers has discovered that mutations in a gene called GRIN2D could cause severe epileptic encephalopathy. GRIN2D is part of a gene family containing the information necessary to make proteins called NMDARs. These are ion channels found on the surface of nerve cells, and they play an important role in electrical signalling between them. Mutations in NMDAR proteins are already known read more

Scientists in Canada, Germany and Iran have discovered a new way to monitor brainwaves associated with epilepsy in a non-invasive way. This discovery could improve the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. The work is published in the scientific journal, Neuroscience. First Author Zoya Bastany, a masters student at the University of British Columbia, comments: “Using this method, we found that the electrical signals read more

‘Machine learning’, a type of computer modelling, can detect areas of brain damage (lesions) associated with drug-resistant epilepsy. This is according to a new study published in the scientific journal PLOS One. During the study, researchers led by Dr Carole Lartizien, from the University of Lyon, developed a complex system that is able learn features associated with healthy brain MRI scans. It can then read more

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a new computer model that may explain why some seizures spread throughout the brain whilst others stay localized. The seizure networks model, which the scientists developed using direct recordings from the brain of people with epilepsy, proposes that, whereas some regions in the brain promote seizure activity, others dampen it. The leader of the read more

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have described, in detail, the structure and function of a type of receptor called the AMPA receptor. This plays an important role in the activation of neurons, but in epilepsy it contributes to seizure spread. Currently there is only one approved drug, known as perampanel, that inhibits AMPA receptors to try and stop seizures. However, because read more

Scientists at the University of Queensland have made an important discovery about severe infantile epilepsies, which, unexpectedly, links to Parkinson’s disease. The results are published in the Journal of Cell Biology. According to Professor Frédéric Meunier, Senior Author on the study, this discovery could open new avenues for the development of different classes of drugs to treat epilepsy. In a press release, Dr Emma read more

Results from the US and China may help to explain why 50-60% of children with epilepsy outgrow their condition in adolescence. At the heart of these findings is ‘GABA’; a brain chemical that acts via structures called receptors to dampen down electrical activity in neurons (and prevent them from becoming over-excited). Recent evidence shows that there is a specific type of GABA read more

In people with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), grey matter – the darker part of the brain that consists of densely packed nerve cell bodies – becomes reduced in particular areas. A recent study, published in the Journal of Clinical Neurology, has now shown that this decrease is more pronounced in people with right-sided TLE than in those with left-sided TLE. read more

Brain atrophy, or wasting, and re-organisation of neurons occur in the brains of people with super-refractory status epilepticus (SRSE), according to a study published in JAMA Neurology. The research also shows that the severity of brain atrophy is related to the duration of SRSE. This is the first study to show that brain atrophy occurs even after difficult-to-treat status epilepticus is controlled with anaesthetic drugs. read more

Researchers in Singapore have improved the production high quality, functional human inhibitory (‘GABAergic’) neurons in the laboratory, according to a study published in the leading journal Cell. These neurons can now be used to develop models to study epilepsy, as well as other neurological conditions. They can also be used to screen the effects of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) without the need to read more

The hippocampal form of an essential muscle protein called dystrophin is found in higher levels in people with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), according to a new study published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. This could be the result of a compensatory mechanism – in response to too much excitation in the brain (hyperexcitation) – that tries to restore the read more

Research published in the scientific journal PLOS One suggests that children with epilepsy have irregularities in their pattern of saccadic eye movement. This refers to the fast, jerking movement of the eyes that allows people to scan their environment and build a mental 3D image of it. According to the authors of the study, these irregularities may be indicative of abnormal read more

Researchers at Aix-Marseille University and Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Marseille (APHM) have developed an exciting new model of ‘personalised’ brain networks, based on information obtained in a non-invasive way. The work is published in the journal NeuroImage. The team hopes to be able to use this model, known as the Virtual Epileptic Patient (VEP), to predict how seizures occur in read more

There may be an association between natural differences (known as polymorphisms) in a gene called ADAM10 and temporal lobe epilepsy, according to new research led by Dr Keshen Li from Jinan University in China. The study, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Neurology, is the first that shows such an association and suggests that by analysing these natural differences read more

Scientists at Louisiana State University, and at Spain’s University of Alcala, have developed compounds that can prevent seizures in a rodent model of epilepsy. They believe that so-called ‘neuroprotective’ compounds like these may also prevent epilepsy in humans in the future. In earlier work, the team screened a range of compounds that block a specific inflammatory molecule in neurons, and discovered that one in particular, LAU-0901, stopped seizures in epilepsy models. In read more