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A new therapy against epilepsy has been tested successfully in rodents. The new therapy consists of a one-time injection with a modified virus. From then on, incidentally taking a pill can suppress epileptic seizures. Testing the medication showed no additional effects on normal brain function. Dimitri Kullman and colleagues from the University College London (UCL) published the results in Nature Communications on May 27th.

The virus is injected at the location in the brain where seizures originate. There, the virus induces expression of the modified receptor hM4D_i. After activation, the G-coupled receptor has an inhibitory effect on the neurons, which completely suppresses the seizure. The receptor is modified in such a way it can be activated by clozapine-N-oxide (CNO). This metabolite can be administered orally and works briefly.

The experiments were performed on rodents. Kullman says clinical trials can start soon and hopes the medication will be used in a clinical study within a decade.

Epilepsy
Worldwide there are 50 million epilepsy patients. 70 percent of the patients react well to current anti-epileptic medicine. The other 30 percent do not. These patients only react to compounds of which the effect is not local, sometimes making complete sedation necessary. According to the scientists  of UCL, the tested treatment could be an outcome for patients who do not react to the regular anti-epileptic medicine. 

Source: Nature Communications.