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Switch for epilepsy discovered
Epilepsy can occur as a result of various brain diseases. The disease is also referred to as "epilepsy" or "cramping", and causes sufferers usually suffer spontaneously seizures. These can lead from slight, barely perceptible muscle twitching, to violent cramping for minutes with subsequent unconsciousness. Now, researchers from the University of Bonn, in collaboration with colleagues from Hebrew University Jerusalem in Israel, have succeeded in identifying a kind of central "switch" that is associated with epileptic seizures. If this is blocked, the frequency and severity of seizures will decrease.
In an experiment with mice, the scientists from Bonn managed to block a central "switch" in the brain of the rodents. According to the University, this is directly related to seizures triggered by epilepsy. The blockade makes it possible to reduce the number of seizures and their strength. A newly developed technique also made it possible to recognize and evaluate the processes occurring before an epileptic seizure. These observations could be made in the experiment on living animals. The results of the investigations have now been published by the scientists of the University of Bonn in the journal "Nature Communications".
Researchers are discovering an epilepsy switch that could be used to relieve or even prevent seizures. (Image: psdesign1 / fotolia.com) Nerve cells out of control trigger seizures
The statistics prove that epileptic seizures occur more often than most people believe. Such a fit suffers every twentieth person at some point in his life. The trigger for this are the human nerve cells. They get out of control and start sending signals in a very fast rhythm. As a result, the known seizures are triggered. The discharge of nerve cells usually takes place in the "temporal lobes" of our brain. According to the researchers, such seizure disorders often arise after a wound or inflammation of the brain.
Zinc ion concentration in the brain amplifies seizures
Researchers have long been aware that after a transient severe brain damage, the concentration of free zinc ions in the hippocampus increase, said Professor. Albert J. Becker from the Institute of Neuropathology, University of Bonn. This would happen even before the first epileptic seizure occurs. But why exactly the changes occur could not yet be decrypted. This process is also puzzling for researchers and physicians, according to Professor Becker. In their experiments, the medical profession managed to decipher a signaling pathway involved in the onset of epileptic seizures. The researchers found that as a result of severe brain damage, the amount of zinc ions increases. The ions dock on a kind of switch. This is referred to by researchers as metal regulatory transcription factor 1 (MTF1). By attaching the zinc ions, the amount of special calcium ion channels in our nerve cells increases. This process greatly increases the likelihood of seizures, said researchers from the team led by Professor Becker.
Trying on mice brings new insights
The discovery that the transcription factor MTF1 plays an important role in epileptic seizures was gained by the physicians from experiments with mice suffering from epilepsy. Using a genetic procedure, the researchers blocked the switch MTF in the experimental animals. As a direct effect, it was observed that fewer seizures occurred in the mice. In addition, the seizures were weaker, so the main author Dr. Karen van Loo from the team around Professor Becker.
Luminescent molecules enable new clear statements about epilepsy
With the help of fluorescent molecules, the scientists were able to detect the activation of the calcium ion channels in the brain of the mice. They inject the molecules into the brains via viruses, and each time the production of a particular calcium ion channel is activated, the molecules start to glow. So it was possible to measure the light emitted by the fluorescent molecules. This was done directly through the skull of the epileptic mice. Thus, the observations and examinations could be performed on experimental animals while they are still alive, explains Karen van Loo. The medical profession was now able to make clear statements about when the mouse develops epileptic seizures. As soon as the "fluorescence molecules" start to light up, this is a clear sign that this rodent is developing chronic epileptic seizures, explained the physician Prof. Dr. med. Susanne Schoch, molecular biologist at the University of Bonn. In the future, with the help of the new technology, these procedures could eventually be used for novel approaches to diagnosis in humans.
Mitigation of zinc ions or MTF1 could prevent the development of epilepsy
Many of the patients (more than a third) with "temporal lobe epilepsies" do not respond to treatment with medications. Therefore, the researchers now hope that the use of fluorescent molecules in the development of new, low-side-treatment options could help, said Professor Becker in the study. It may even be possible later to mitigate zinc ions or the transcription factor MTF1. Through this manipulation of the human brain, it may perhaps be possible to completely prevent the onset of a seizure disorder. For this purpose, but further studies should be carried out, added the main author. Karen van Loo. (As)