Epilepsy research reveals unknown cause of seizures

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered how problems with microcircuits in the cerebral cortex can trigger seizures

UVA epilepsy researchers Dr.

These dysfunctions are caused by mutations in a specific gene that is known to cause a rare epilepsy syndrome in human patients

"Identifying the specific nerve cells that cause seizures is important because it helps guide researchers in the development of new therapies," said Patel of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia

Understand the cause of seizures

As part of the study of a rare neurological disease SCN8A epileptic encephalopathy, the researchers examined the role of somatostatin interneurons

To better understand what happens in SCN8A epileptic encephalopathy, the researchers developed two mouse models of oscn8a mutations found in patients

"It's like a speeding car, the brake system is broken and it can't slow down," Wengert said

Based on their findings, scientists believe that it is possible to treat SCN8A epileptic encephalopathy by developing a method to fix activated interneurons

Wengert said: "Although the focus of this study is SCN8A epilepsy, our results confirm that somatostatin interneurons are the general cause of seizures