Health & Medicine
Switching Off Epilectic Seizures by Switching On Light in Brain
Mark Hoffman
First Posted: Feb 05, 2013 03:07 PM EST
Neuroscientists at UC Irvine said that they "switched off" epileptic seizures by "switching on the lights" in the brain of mice. This was possible by implanting fiber optic strands in the brain, to then use light signals to stimulate a special kind of protein, called opsins, which can inhibit specific neurons when activated.
While this was tested on mice, it could also work in humans and present a novel opportunity to treat the most severe manifestations of the brain disorder that affects 3 million Americans today.
Using a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy, Ivan Soltesz, Chancellor's Professor and chair of anatomy & neurobiology, and colleagues created an EEG-based brain-waves-sensing computer system which is capable to detect a seizure in real-time and then immediately sends the light signals which in turn activate the light-sensitive inhibiting opsin proteins in the brain.
The process was found to be able to arrest ongoing electrical seizure activity and reduce the incidence of severe "tonic-clonic" events.
Epilepsy is a condition of recurrent spontaneous seizures that occur unpredictably, often cause changes in consciousness, and can preclude normal activities such as driving and working. In at least 40 percent of patients, seizures cannot be controlled with existing drugs, and even in those whose seizures are well controlled, the treatments can have major cognitive side effects.
(study supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Epilepsy Foundation, and the George E. Hewitt Foundation for Medical Research)
Study:
Esther Krook-Magnuson et al., On-demand optogenetic control of spontaneous seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy, Nature Communications, 2013, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2376 (open access)
See Now:
NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone
©2024 ScienceWorldReport.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The window to the world of science news.
More on SCIENCEwr
First Posted: Feb 05, 2013 03:07 PM EST
Neuroscientists at UC Irvine said that they "switched off" epileptic seizures by "switching on the lights" in the brain of mice. This was possible by implanting fiber optic strands in the brain, to then use light signals to stimulate a special kind of protein, called opsins, which can inhibit specific neurons when activated.
While this was tested on mice, it could also work in humans and present a novel opportunity to treat the most severe manifestations of the brain disorder that affects 3 million Americans today.
Using a mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy, Ivan Soltesz, Chancellor's Professor and chair of anatomy & neurobiology, and colleagues created an EEG-based brain-waves-sensing computer system which is capable to detect a seizure in real-time and then immediately sends the light signals which in turn activate the light-sensitive inhibiting opsin proteins in the brain.
The process was found to be able to arrest ongoing electrical seizure activity and reduce the incidence of severe "tonic-clonic" events.
Epilepsy is a condition of recurrent spontaneous seizures that occur unpredictably, often cause changes in consciousness, and can preclude normal activities such as driving and working. In at least 40 percent of patients, seizures cannot be controlled with existing drugs, and even in those whose seizures are well controlled, the treatments can have major cognitive side effects.
(study supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Epilepsy Foundation, and the George E. Hewitt Foundation for Medical Research)
Study:
Esther Krook-Magnuson et al., On-demand optogenetic control of spontaneous seizures in temporal lobe epilepsy, Nature Communications, 2013, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2376 (open access)
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone