Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered that the spreading of seizures through the brain can be suppressed depending on the amount of pressure within the brain, an important discovery that may revolutionize the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have discovered that the spreading of seizures through the brain can be suppressed depending on the amount of pressure within the brain, an important discovery that may revolutionize the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy.
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases, affecting people of all ages. There are many seizure disorders, all of which fall under the umbrella of epilepsy. While many seizure disorders can be treated with medication, some patients have strains of epilepsy that are resistant to drugs, meaning that sometimes surgical intervention is necessary. In these patients, tissue can be surgically removed to eliminate or minimize future seizures.
The lab of Department Head of Biomedical Engineering Bin He, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, has published a study in the journal Annals of Neurology that finds that within the brain, “focal seizures”—seizures that originate at a single point—can be regulated by push-pull dynamics within the brain.
The paper, “Multiple Oscillatory Push-Pull Antagonisms Constrain Seizure Propagation,” further shows that an imbalance of excitation-inhibition activity within an epileptic network may be a promising biomarker for the secondary generalization of focal seizures. In other words, when medical professionals see indications that the excitation and inhibition of neuron firing within the brain is imbalanced, this imbalance may be an indicator as to if the seizure will propagate in the brain.
Read more at College of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
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