Emerging theories and therapies for metabolic dysfunction in epilepsy
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Citation
Abstract
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in the world, involving recurrent and spontaneous seizures which can have devastating effects on individual health and quality of life, as well as on the economic health of nations. While currently available anti-seizure drugs can control the symptoms of epilepsy, these drugs do not work in one-third of patients. Drug-resistant epilepsy is a serious concern. Even in patients responding to anti-seizure drugs, these treatments are not curative – they must be taken chronically and have limited to no ability to reverse or prevent the course of epilepsy development, called epileptogenesis. Epileptogenesis is a dynamic process involving underlying changes in the development of epilepsy, including changes in network excitability and organization, cellular plasticity, and inflammation. As epilepsy research has refocused on finding anti-epileptogenic agents to meet the unmet need of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, dysregulated metabolism has come to light as a new area of research – along with a revisiting of previously tried metabolic treatments for epilepsy such as the ketogenic diet.