Epilepsy
Searching for answers to a common brain disorder
Epilepsy is a chronic disorder of the brain that is not contagious and affects people of all ages. Approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and 85,000 people in the state of Virginia have the disease. One person in 26 experiences a seizure in his/her lifetime. In the United States alone, $9.6 billion are spent each year on epilepsy treatment.
Nearly 80% of those with epilepsy are found in developing regions. Epilepsy responds to treatment 70% of the time. Those with epilepsy and their families often suffer from stigma and discrimination in many parts of the world.
CINID’s unique collaboration allows researchers to investigate how cancer treatments are leading to the loss of advanced cognitive functions (executive functions). CINID researchers have used a donation from the Cottell family to develop leading-edge instrumentation that is being used to determine how neural network function is harmed by both chemotherapy and radiation.
Patients with epilepsy are:
- at risk of early mortality, especially from suicide
- struggling for access to high-quality healthcare
- misunderstood and discriminated against by the public
- suffering physical disability, unemployment and social isolation.
Studying how the immune system can contribute to epilepsy
The CINID project focuses on the ways inflammation and the immune system can cause epilepsy to develop at cellular and molecular levels. Researchers use experimental models and apply them to state-of-the-art recordings of neural activity, creating recordings using microelectrodes implanted in living brains. Researchers examine whether certain patterns of activity may point to neural damage.
They will also study the microglia cells, the primary form of immune defense in the nervous system, both on a microscopic level and through biochemical processes. Their goal is to find the biological markers that can predict whether someone will become an epileptic and the find therapies to prevent a patient from suffering recurring seizures.
