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PETBioNewsNewsEpilepsy gene pair may be 'seizure-protective'

BioNews

Epilepsy gene pair may be 'seizure-protective'

Published 9 June 2009 posted in News and appears in BioNews 432

Author

Ailsa Stevens

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.

Two defective genes, which normally cause epilepsy when inherited individually, have been found to protect against seizures when inherited as a pair, according to a report published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The researchers, based at Baylor Medical Centre in Texas, found that mice genetically engineered to...

Two defective genes, which normally cause epilepsy when inherited individually, have been found to protect against seizures when inherited as a pair, according to a report published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The researchers, based at Baylor Medical Centre in Texas, found that mice genetically engineered to carry the two faulty genes, both of which are involved in regulating the flow of charged molecules in and out of cells, had dramatically reduced seizures and did not suffer the sudden death normally associated with mice carrying defects in the individual genes.


Scientists already knew that defects in the two genes - Kcna1 and Cacna 1a - were responsible for epilepsy in some families when inherited individually. Large-scale studies of people with non-inherited seizure disorders, performed in collaboration with the Baylor Human Genome Sequencing Centre, had also identified the two genes. They expected that mice genetically engineered to have defects both genes would be more prone to seizures, but surprisingly they found the reverse was true.


'In the genetics of the brain, two wrongs can make a right,' said Jeffrey Noebels, professor of neurology, neuroscience and molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, believing that the defective genes may actually prevent seizures by acting as a 'circuit breaker', stopping the electrical storm of brain signals in its tracks.


Professor Noebels hopes that the discovery will help scientists to better understand the genetic basis of neurological diseases, potentially leading to new ways of treating epilepsy. 'If you have a potassium channel defect, then a drug blocking certain calcium channels might also benefit you', he said.


In future scientists may be able to more accurately assess an individual's genetic risk of many common disorders such as epilepsy, by testing for defects in different combinations of genes to create a complete profile of the genes involved, thinks Professor Noebels. 'Fortunately, this amount of background information will soon become routinely obtainable thanks to rapid technological progress in the field of neurogenomics', he said.

Related Articles

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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31 January 2013 • 2 minutes read

Gene therapy controls epilepsy in rats

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Researchers in the US have used gene therapy to reduce the severity of seizures in a rat model of epilepsy. The gene injected into the rats codes for somatostatin, a hormone which is normally found in low levels in people with the condition...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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11 January 2013 • 2 minutes read

Epilepsy and migraine may be genetically linked

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Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
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19 August 2010 • 1 minute read

Prox1 gene linked to memory

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A gene called Prox1 has a crucial role in an area of the brain involved in creating new memories, US scientists have discovered. The researchers focused on a region of the brain called the dentate gyrus, a small structure which is important for learning, memory and spatial navigation...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
9 June 2009 • 1 minute read

Epilepsy genome project underway

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US researchers have unveiled a new study - the Epilepsy Phenome/Genome Project (EPGP) - to try and pinpoint the genetic and environmental factors that contribute to epilepsy and explain why some people respond differently to epilepsy medicine. The study, both the first and the largest of its kind...

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