Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Seizing hold of seizures

Nature Medicine volume 9, pages 994–996 (2003)Cite this article

Epilepsy remains a hard-to-treat disorder for millions of patients. Gene therapy to target brain regions with seizure-reducing compounds is one approach that has met with limited experimental success. An innovative form of genetic manipulation now reduces seizure susceptibility and seizure-induced brain injury in rats (pages 1076–1080).

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Focal seizures result from a limited group of neurons that fire abnormally because of intrinsic or extrinsic factors.

References

  1. Jackson, J.H. A study of convulsions. Transactions of the Saint Andrews Graduate Association. (Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1951).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Hauser, W.A. & Hersdorffer, D.C. in Epilepsy: Frequency, Causes and Consequences 1–378 (Demos, New York, 1990).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Kwan, P. & Brodie, M.J. Early identification of refractory epilepsy. N. Engl. J. Med. 342, 314–319 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Haberman, R.P., Samulski, R.J., McCown, T.J. Attenuation of seizures and neuronal death by adeno-associated virus vector galanin expression and secretion. Nature Med. 8 1076–1080 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Buzsáki, G. Hippocampal GABAergic interneurons: a physiological perspective. Neurochem. Res. 26, 899–905 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Haberman, R.P. et al. Therapeutic liabilities of in vivo viral vector tropism: adeno-associated virus vectors, NMDAR1 antisense, and focal seizure sensitivity. Mol. Ther. 6, 495–500 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Snead, O.C. Basic mechanisms of generalized absence seizures. Ann. Neurol. 37, 146–157 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Khazipov, R. & Holmes, G.L. Synchronization of kainate-induced epileptic activity via GABAergic inhibition in the superfused rat hippocampus in vivo. J. Neurosci. 23, 5337–5341 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Ben-Ari, Y. Galanin and gilbenclamide modulate the anoxic release of glutamate in rat CA3 hippocampal neurons. Eur. J. Neurosci. 1, 62–68 (1990).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Mazarati, A.M. et al. Modulation of hippocampal excitability and seizures by galanin. J. Neurosci. 20, 6276–6281 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ben-Ari, Y., Tremblay, E., Richie, D.A., Ghilini, G. & Naquet, R. Electrographic, clinical and pathological alterations following systemic administration of kainic acid, bicuculline or pentetrazole: metabolic mapping using the deoxyglucose method with special reference to the pathology of epilepsy. Neuroscience 6, 1361–1391 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Lowenstein, D.H. & Alldredge, B.K. Status epilepticus. N. Engl. J. Med. 338, 970–976 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Ben-Ari, Y. Cell death and synaptic reorganizations produced by seizures. Epilepsia 42 (suppl. 3), 5–7 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Neurology, Neuroscience Center at Dartmouth, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, 03756, New-Hampshire, USA

    Gregory L Holmes

  2. INMED/ INSERM U29, 163 Route de Luminy, Marseille, 13273 cedex 09, France

    Yezekiel Ben-Ari

Authors
  1. Gregory L Holmes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yezekiel Ben-Ari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Holmes, G., Ben-Ari, Y. Seizing hold of seizures. Nat Med 9, 994–996 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0803-994

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0803-994

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing