[Research] The Biology of Epilepsy

[PhylisFeinerJohnson]

Epileptic seizures are triggered by abnormal electrochemical impulses that act on other neurons, glands, and muscles to produce human thoughts, feelings, and actions.

In epilepsy, the normal pattern of neuronal activity becomes disturbed, causing strange sensations, emotions, and behavior, or sometimes convulsions, muscle spasms, and loss of consciousness.

During a seizure, neurons may fire as many as 500 times a second, much faster than the normal rate of about 80 times a second. In some people, this happens only occasionally; for others, it may happen up to hundreds of times a day.

One of the most-studied neurotransmitters that plays a role in epilepsy is GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Research on GABA has led to drugs that alter the amount of this neurotransmitter in the brain or changes how the brain responds to it. Researchers also are studying excitatory neurotransmitters such as glutamate.

Other biologically related causes that can trigger seizures are the ion channels created by sodium, potassium, and calcium. These ion channels produce electric charges that must fire regularly in order for a steady current to pass from one nerve cell in the brain to another.

If these ion channels are genetically damaged, a chemical imbalance occurs. This can cause nerve signals to misfire, leading to seizures. Abnormalities in the ion channels are believed to be responsible for absence and many other generalized seizures.

Serotonin is a brain chemical that is important for well-being and associated behaviors (eating, relaxation, sleep). Imbalances in serotonin are also associated with depression. A 2005 study indicated that depression may be a risk factor for epilepsy and that the two conditions may share common chemical pathways in the brain.


Resources:

http://www.healingwell.com/library/epilepsy/info1.asp
http://www.healthcentral.com/ency/408/guides/000044_2_2.html
http://www.geocities.com/geneinfo/conditions/epilepsyb.html

Copyright © 2009, Phylis Feiner Johnson. All rights reserved.

 

[Cetacean]

Recent research has revealed that inflammation plays a key role in epilepsy.

Reuters reports in an 11/25/08 article Scientists shed light on causes of epilepsy that: "A study of mice showed how immune cells sticking to blood vessels in the brain caused inflammation that contributed to epileptic seizures, Gabriela Constantin of the University of Verona in Italy and colleagues reported."

""This mechanism was not previously suspected in epilepsy," she said in a telephone interview."

The researchers found that during a seizure the brain released a chemical that caused the white blood cells, or leukocytes, to stick to blood vessels. The immune cells protect the body from threats such as bacteria, viruses, and infections.

But when these immune cells stuck to the brain blood vessels they caused damage by releasing molecules that caused inflammation and contributed to seizures in mice, Constantin said.

"We found a lot of inflammation in this process in the generation of a new seizure," she said.

Mice that received monoclonal antibodies to block the immune cells from sticking to blood vessels had a dramatic reduction of seizures, in some cases 100 percent, Constantin said.

It is possible that treatment with monoclonal antibodies might give us all our lives back. But that's unlikely simply because it seems too good to be true. One hopes, nonetheless.

It's more likely that inflammation is simply one trigger sufficient to cause seizures (in mice), but that there are a host of other triggers not amenable to treatment with monoclonal antibodies.

Source: w w w DOTreutersDOTcom/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE4AN34120081125

 

[Dutch mom]

Hi Cetacean,

To add your sources untill you can post links: you can post your link inactive, with whitespaces or like "www dot cwe dot com", so one of the moderators can fix it. You can PM one of us to do so (you can see who of the moderators is online and send him/her a PM.)

 

[Cetacean]

Hi Cetacean,

To add your sources untill you can post links: you can post your link inactive, with whitespaces or like "www dot cwe dot com", so one of the moderators can fix it. You can PM one of us to do so (you can see who of the moderators is online and send him/her a PM.)

Done, thanks!

:woot: