Researchers find treatment target for drug-resistant epilepsy

Washington, Mar 14 (Prensa Latina) Researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine and colleagues have found a small molecule that may help treat people suffering from epilepsy whose conditions has become resistant to the benzodiazepine drugs usually used in managing seizures, a specialized source published Tuesday.

March 14, 2023
17:18

Uncontrolled epilepsy can lead to frequent and prolonged seizures lasting five minutes or more that can cause brain cell damage and even death.

Epilepsy occurs when the intricate, delicate balance of signaling by neurons in the brain malfunctions, causing neurons to fire too much and trigger seizures.

While seizures can frequently be controlled with medications, up to 30% of people with epilepsy develop drug resistance after a period of time, according to the study co-first author Krithika Abiraman, a scientist in the Department of Neuroscience at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Stephen Moss, Professor of Neuroscience at the School of Medicine, program faculty at Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and corresponding author on the study, stressed that “the small molecules we have identified have the capacity to be developed as first-in-class drugs to alleviate drug-resistant epilepsies and neurodegenerative disorders.”

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