CURE Initiative: Defending Against Post-Traumatic Epilepsy

Post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) is a seizure disorder resulting from injury to the brain. It is a devastating complication of traumatic brain injury (TBI), which can occur as a result of car accidents, sports-related injuries, or military combat. PTE can develop weeks, months, or even years after TBI, offering a window of opportunity for interventions to prevent seizures. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to predict who will develop epilepsy following TBI, and there are no therapies to prevent it.

CURE’s collaborative, multi-investigator PTE research program aims to develop better models to study PTE and discover methods to predict who is at risk as a way to intervene early and prevent PTE. With a $10 million grant from the US Department of Defense, this initiative brings together leading scientists in the field from around the world. This groundbreaking initiative, which launched in 2018, involves six primary investigators and their research teams for a total of over 60 scientists. To further encourage collaboration and scientific rigor, CURE has contracted with the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) at the University of Southern California to create a database to house data from the teams and make it accessible for cross-comparison and analysis.

These teams are enhancing knowledge about PTE by researching what changes occur in the brain, as well as by developing robust animal models to study PTE. In addition, the researchers are investigating how different types of head injury can contribute to seizure onset and occurrence, and they are identifying potential EEG, MRI, or blood biomarkers to predict PTE in humans.

One exciting, ongoing PTE project is led by Dr. Jeffrey Loeb of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Loeb’s team project will focus on a type of bleeding commonly caused by TBI called subarachnoid hemorrhage. This kind of bleeding occurs when there is blood between the brain and the protective tissue surrounding the brain. By studying both rat models and in-patient instances of subarachnoid hemorrhage, Dr. Loeb’s data-driven approach will hopefully lead to methods or guidelines to help doctors take steps to prevent the development of epilepsy. Check out our recent interview with him to learn more.

We’ve also seen significant achievements over the course of the past two years. These includes a publication from Dr. Harald Sontheimer’s team at Virginia Tech University on a new mouse model for PTE,¹ and a manuscript in preparation by Dr. Victoria Johnson’s team at the University of Pennsylvania on neuropathology in humans after TBI. The investigators have presented abstracts of their work at scientific meetings including the 2019 National Neurotrauma Society meeting in Pittsburgh, PA and the 2019 American Epilepsy Society Meeting in Baltimore, MD.

This collaborative, team-science approach has the potential to develop innovative ways to study PTE, build understanding of the neural mechanisms behind PTE, and ultimately help us understand who is at the greatest risk. This research can pave the way for the development of therapies to prevent and/or treat PTE, having a positive impact on the lives of all affected by TBI and PTE.

¹ Shandra O., Robel S. Inducing Post-Traumatic Epilepsy in a Mouse Model of Repetitive Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury. J Vis Exp. 2020 Feb 10;(156)

Learn more about PTE! From episodes of our Seizing Life® podcast to free webinar recordings, discover resources to dive deeper into the causes, treatment options, and latest research about PTE.