Scientists at Case Western Reserve University have discovered a possible new approach to control epileptic seizures. Lin Mei, chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the university’s School of Medicine and lead of the study, stated that the researchers identified a new chemical reaction that may help to better manage epileptic seizures. The research, which was conducted using mice models, was reported in the “Journal of Clinical Investigation.”
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that brings about periods of unusual behavior and seizures, loss of awareness and sensations when brain activity becomes abnormal.
The human brain has more than 85 billion nerve cells, referred to as neurons. Of this number, 80% of them, which are known as excitatory neurons, send messages to nerves that control the muscles in the body, usually directing them to do something. In a healthy brain, the activity to be done is carried out by the inhibitory neurons, which make up the remaining 20%. Mei explained that the balance between inhibitory and excitatory neurons was crucial as an imbalance in excitatory neurons increased the chances of epilepsy.
The primary mechanisms that give rise to epilepsy are either environmental or genetic. A genetic type of epilepsy, known as Dravet syndrome, is among the more serious forms of the disorder. In this condition, the membrane pore, referred to as the sodium channel, whose role is to hinder neuron activation is mutated, which permits excitatory neurons to misfire, bringing about seizures.
During their study, the researchers discovered neddylation, which is a chemical reaction in the brain that stabilized sodium channels in mice models. They found that mice which didn’t have the protein needed for neddylation in inhibitory neurons developed epilepsy. This prompted the researchers to investigate the neddylation process, which then led to the discovery that the process played a major role in the sodium channel. Mei noted that controlling the chemical may help manage epilepsy.
The researchers note that their findings provided evidence that mice with epilepsy had an issue with neddylation, a finding which suggests that this may also apply to humans. The researchers are now focused on discovering approaches or drugs that can control this chemical reaction in order to stabilize the sodium channel. In addition, they are also carrying out more experiments to find out whether their discovery applies to individuals with other types of epilepsy, excluding Dravet syndrome.
Furthermore, Mei revealed that neddylation has also been earmarked for cancer research, which means that it may have many other applications.
With companies such as Brain Scientific Inc. (OTCQB: BRSF) coming up with innovations that make neurological diagnostics easier and more accurate, it may not be long before viable remedies to the causes of epilepsy are found.
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