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Inhibitory Brain Receptor may Lead to New Therapies for Childhood Epilepsy

by Shirley Johanna on Aug 26 2016 6:03 PM

Inhibitory Brain Receptor may Lead to New Therapies for Childhood Epilepsy
In a mouse model of epilepsy, the emergence of a novel inhibitory brain receptor called alpha four beta delta, reduces seizure-like activity at the onset of puberty, says a new research led by SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. During a seizure, a person experiences abnormal behavior, or sometimes loss of consciousness. More than half of children with epilepsy outgrow their seizures, yet the mechanism underlying this remission is unknown.

Sheryl Smith, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate, explained, "Seizure-like discharges were three to four-fold greater before puberty and in pubertal mice that lack expression of this receptor. Administration of drugs that selectively enhance inhibition mediated by this receptor further decreased seizure-like activity in this model."

“These findings suggest a mechanism for the remission of epilepsy in adolescence and also suggest potential new therapies for childhood epilepsy."

The report, "Pubertal Expression of α4βδ GABAA Receptors Reduces Seizure-Like Discharges in CA1 Hippocampus," is published in Scientific Reports.

Source-Medindia


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