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Emerging insights into the genesis of epilepsy

Nature volume 399, pages A15–A22 (1999)Cite this article

Epilepsies are a diverse collection of brain disorders that affect 1–2% of the population. Current therapies are unsatisfactory as they provide only symptomatic relief, are effective in only a subset of affected individuals, and are often accompanied by persistent toxic effects. It is hoped that insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of epileptogenesis will lead to new therapies, prevention, or even a cure. Emerging insights point to alterations of synaptic function and intrinsic properties of neurons as common mechanisms underlying the hyperexcitability in diverse forms of epilepsy.

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Figure 1: Synaptic reorganization of epileptic hippocampus

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Acknowledgements

I thank K. Whitney and S. Danzer for reading versions of this manuscript and M. Routbort for assistance with the figures. This work was supported by grants from theNational Institutes of Neurological Disease and Stroke and by a grant from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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  1. Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center and the Departments of Medicine (Neurology), Neurobiology, and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University Medical Center, 401 Bryan Research Building, Research Drive, Box 3676, Durham, 27710, USA, North Carolina

    James O. McNamara

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McNamara, J. Emerging insights into the genesis of epilepsy. Nature 399, A15–A22 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/399a015

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