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CURE Epilepsy is dedicated to funding patient-focused research to find a cure for the 65 million people with epilepsy worldwide. This month, we share the following articles and abstracts which are furthering the study of epilepsy and bringing the world closer to a cure.

This issue of Epilepsy Research News includes summaries of articles on: 

• New Therapeutic Target for Rare Type of Childhood Epilepsy Identified 

• High-Powered Magnets on the Brain Help Control Seizures in Dravet Mice 

• The Keto Diet Protects Against Epileptic Seizures. Scientists are Uncovering Why 

• New Research Could Improve Treatments for Parkinson's, Epilepsy 

• Seizures Identified as Potential Cause of Sudden Unexplained Deaths in Children

New Therapeutic Target for Rare Type of Childhood Epilepsy Identified

Researchers have identified a potential treatment target for CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), one of the most common types of genetic epilepsy. CDD causes seizures and impaired development. To date, there are no disease-targeting antiseizure medications. Recently, researchers have identified calcium channel Cav2.3 as a potential therapeutic target for CDD. Cav2.3 allows calcium to enter nerve cells, exciting the cells and allowing them to pass on electrical signals. This process is needed for the nervous system to function properly, but too much calcium coming into nerve cells can result in over-excitability and seizures.

High-Powered Magnets on the Brain Help Control Seizures in Dravet Mice

Treatment with a noninvasive procedure called transcranial static magnetic stimulation (tSMS) led to significantly less seizure activity in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome. “Our results show that tSMS, a non-invasive neuromodulatory technique, can reduce the number, duration, and severity of [seizures] in a mouse model of Dravet,” researchers wrote in the study. tSMS involves applying a powerful magnetic field to the skull. While it’s not known exactly how this affects brain activity, there is evidence suggesting it can reduce the overactivation of brain cells that can occur in people with Dravet syndrome causing seizures.

The Keto Diet Protects Against Epileptic Seizures. Scientists are Uncovering Why

In a newly published study, researchers demonstrate that the ketogenic diet causes changes in the human gut microbiome — the trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in the digestive tract — that can confer protection against seizures in mice. Understanding how the function of the microbiome is altered by the diet could aid in the development of new therapeutic approaches that incorporate these beneficial changes while avoiding certain drawbacks of the diet, said the study’s lead author, Gregory Lum, a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA. Lum sought to understand the underlying molecular mechanisms behind diet’s alteration of the human gut microbiome. He studied how the gut microbiome is beneficially altered in children with epilepsy who start ketogenic diet therapy.

New Research Could Improve Treatments for Parkinson's, Epilepsy

By listening in on the background chatter in the brain, scientists can predict the relationships between different neurons, according to new research. The advance could help make deep brain stimulation (DBS)--an emerging treatment for certain neurological and psychiatric conditions that haven’t responded to other treatments--a more viable treatment for conditions like Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and depression. In DBS, electrodes are surgically implanted into the brain so that they stimulate specific neural circuits, alleviating symptoms, but finding the right spot to stimulate involves a lot of trial and error, which is both costly and risky.

Seizures Identified as Potential Cause of Sudden Unexplained Deaths in Children

In a study designed to better understand sudden unexpected deaths in young children, which usually occur during sleep, researchers have identified brief seizures accompanied by muscle convulsions as a potential cause. The study findings come from a registry of more than 300 cases of sudden unexplained death in children (SUDC) at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Researchers used extensive medical record analysis and video evidence donated by families to document the inexplicable deaths of seven toddlers that were potentially attributable to seizures. For decades, researchers have sought an explanation to sudden death events in children, noticing a link between those with a history of febrile seizures (seizures accompanied by fever). Earlier research had reported that children who died suddenly and unexpectedly were 10 times more likely to have had febrile seizures than children who did not die suddenly and unexpectedly.

Our mission is to find a cure for epilepsy, by promoting and funding patient-focused research.

CURE Epilepsy is a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Our tax identification number is 36-4253176.