It is essentially the disruption of the integrity of these capillaries and the BBB that the Trinity scientists believe is the main driver of seizure activity in humans. Promisingly, however, their new study shows that restoring that integrity could prevent seizures.
“Our findings suggest that the design of drugs to stabilize the integrity of blood vessels in the brain may hold promise for the treatment of patients who are currently unresponsive to antiepileptic drugs,” said Dr. , an associate professor at the Trinity School of Genetics. Microbiology.
“This work represents one of the first conclusive studies to pinpoint the key features of seizures that have so far not been studied in molecular detail.”
Importantly, the work is translational in nature and includes both basic and clinical research groups involving patients diagnosed with epilepsy. Using similar techniques in humans and in preclinical models, the scientists were able to show that BBB disruption is a key driver of seizure activity.
Plus, they were able to demonstrate that restoring the integrity of the BBB can prevent seizures – and this finding itself has real potential in bringing discoveries closer to a real therapy. and make sense.
Dr Chris Greene, postdoctoral research fellow and first author of the study, added:
“We are excited about the potential that our findings could help advance the field of epilepsy and other neurological conditions. In fact, stabilizing the integrity of blood vessels. in the brain may be implicated in a host of other diseases and we are just at the beginning of the process of pushing research forward.”
A multidisciplinary team of geneticists, neuroscientists, neurosurgeons and neurosurgeons from Trinity, RCSI, St James’s Hospital, Beaumont Hospital and Uppsala University participated in the study. assist. Additionally, this work is part of a large collaboration between Trinity and Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funding hub, FutureNeuro.
Commenting on the clinical implications of the finding, Professor Colin Doherty, Professor of Epilepsy at Trinity, said:
“This work is the culmination of many years of collaboration between both the clinical and basic research teams. It simply would not have been possible without the commitment of the patients and their interest in the treatment. participate in studies to better understand their condition.”
The study was published this week in the international journal, Nature Communications, supported by the Irish Science Foundation’s (SFI) FutureNeuro Centre, the Irish Research Council (IRC), the St James’s Hospital foundation and the heiress Ellen Mayston Bates in the Trinity Foundation.
Source: Eurekalert
