Epilepsy articles within Nature Reviews Neurology

Featured

  • Review Article |

    Gliomas are the most common malignant primary brain tumours in adults, and they frequently contain mutations in the isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) or IDH2 gene. Small-molecule inhibitors of mutant IDH are emerging as a new therapeutic strategy for IDH-mutant cancers, and this Review charts their pathway of development for IDH-mutant gliomas.

    • Roberta Rudà
    • , Craig Horbinski
    •  & Riccardo Soffietti

  • Review Article |

    Integration of artificial intelligence into epilepsy management could revolutionize diagnosis and treatment. In this Review, the authors provide an overview of artificial intelligence applications that have been developed in epilepsy and discuss challenges that must be addressed to successfully integrate artificial intelligence into clinical practice.

    • Alfredo Lucas
    • , Andrew Revell
    •  & Kathryn A. Davis

  • Review Article |

    Post-traumatic epilepsy is a major driver of disability associated with traumatic brain injury. This article reviews the epidemiology and clinical features of post-traumatic epilepsy and discusses how an understanding of the underlying epileptogenic mechanisms might inform the development of anti-epileptogenic medications.

    • Matthew Pease
    • , Kunal Gupta
    •  & James F. Castellano

  • Review Article |

    Clinical boundaries between neurology and psychiatry hamper understanding of disorders with phenotypes that span these disciplines. In this Review, Peall et al. discuss rare genetic brain disorders with neurological and psychiatric phenotypes, and consider common underlying mechanisms that could be therapeutic targets.

    • Kathryn J. Peall
    • , Michael J. Owen
    •  & Jeremy Hall

  • News & Views |

    A new study using the UK Biobank database has shown that people with epilepsy are at an increased risk of developing dementia. The results demonstrate that this risk is multiplied in individuals who also have high cardiovascular risk, highlighting the importance of addressing modifiable cardiovascular risk factors.

    • Michele Romoli
    •  & Cinzia Costa

  • Research Highlight |

    New research reports changes in serum blood–brain barrier (BBB) markers after bilateral tonic–clonic seizures, corroborating earlier observations in animal models.

    • Lisa Kiani

  • News & Views |

    Technological advances over the past decade have made precision genetic diagnosis available to many patients. The findings of a new study demonstrate that genetic diagnosis in epilepsy can lead to changes in clinical management that manifest as positive outcomes for the patient. The results herald a new era in which precision diagnosis will lead to precision medicine.

    • Katrine M. Johannesen

  • News & Views |

    Gene therapies show promise for treating epilepsy, but most strategies target cells across an entire brain region rather than selecting pathologically hyperexcited neurons. Researchers have now developed a conditional gene therapy strategy that downregulates firing activity only in neurons that are pathologically overactive and switches off when brain circuit activity has returned to baseline.

    • Pasquale Striano
    •  & Fabio Benfenati

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors provide an overview of evidence that activity-regulated myelination is required for brain adaptation and learning, and discuss how dysregulation of activity-dependent myelination contributes to neurological disease and could be a new therapeutic target.

    • Juliet K. Knowles
    • , Ankita Batra
    •  & Michelle Monje

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Vezzani et al. discuss how dysregulation of key astrocyte functions — gliotransmission, cell metabolism and immune function — contribute to the development and progression of hyperexcitability in epilepsy and consider strategies to mitigate astrocyte dysfunction.

    • Annamaria Vezzani
    • , Teresa Ravizza
    •  & Detlev Boison

  • Review Article |

    This Review considers how variants in genes encoding proteins that regulate epigenetic mechanisms might contribute to epilepsy. The discussion is structured around five categories of epigenetic mechanisms: DNA methylation, histone modifications, histone–DNA crosstalk, non-coding RNAs and chromatin remodelling.

    • Karen M. J. Van Loo
    • , Gemma L. Carvill
    •  & David C. Henshall

  • Comment |

    Neurological diseases cause a massive burden, which will increase as populations age. Rapid advances in our understanding of disease mechanisms must be translated into human benefits. We cannot stop once technologies have been developed, but must ensure that evidence and pipelines are in place for their implementation to reduce burden and inequalities.

    • Anthony G. Marson

  • Perspective |

    Many episodes of status epilepticus do not respond to first-line treatment with benzodiazepines. In this Perspective, Richard Burman and colleagues discuss seizure-induced alterations to the sensitivity of the GABA receptor to benzodiazepines, presenting these changes as a possible mechanism of treatment resistance.

    • Richard J. Burman
    • , Richard E. Rosch
    •  & Joseph V. Raimondo

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors highlight the growing recognition that disruptions in cellular metabolism can be both a cause and a consequence of epileptic seizures and discuss how this emerging science might be exploited to develop innovative therapeutic strategies.

    • Jong M. Rho
    •  & Detlev Boison

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors consider how current understanding of four genetic generalized epilepsy syndromes that commonly occur in adults challenges traditional concepts about these conditions and suggests that they are not distinct but sit on a neurobiological continuum.

    • Bernd J. Vorderwülbecke
    • , Britta Wandschneider
    •  & Martin Holtkamp

  • Review Article |

    The close connection between epileptic networks and the autonomic nervous system is illustrated by a range of autonomic manifestations during a seizure. This article reviews the spectrum and diagnostic value of these manifestations, focusing on presentations that could contribute to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

    • Roland D. Thijs
    • , Philippe Ryvlin
    •  & Rainer Surges

  • Review Article |

    This Review offers a novel theoretical perspective on the neurobehavioural comorbidities of adult and childhood epilepsy, involving new analytical approaches, derivation of new taxonomies and consideration of the diverse forces that influence cognition and behaviour in individuals with epilepsy.

    • Bruce P. Hermann
    • , Aaron F. Struck
    •  & Carrie R. McDonald

  • Comment |

    The burden of epilepsy among forcibly displaced persons is thought to be high, and access to treatment is limited. In June 2021, the WHO Secretariat published a draft intersectoral action plan aimed at redressing the global epilepsy treatment gap, providing a valuable opportunity to improve epilepsy treatment for forcibly displaced persons.

    • Farrah J. Mateen

  • Review Article |

    Headaches and epilepsy frequently co-exist in the same individual, but the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this relationship are not yet clear. Here, the authors discuss the epidemiological and pathophysiological links between epilepsy and headache, and apply this knowledge to the clinical management of the two disorders.

    • Prisca R. Bauer
    • , Else A. Tolner
    •  & Josemir W. Sander

  • Review Article |

    People with epilepsy have an elevated risk of dementia, and seizures have been detected in the early stages of Alzheimer disease. Here, the authors review evidence that amyloid-β forms part of a shared pathway between epilepsy and cognitive decline.

    • Michele Romoli
    • , Arjune Sen
    •  & Cinzia Costa

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors provide an overview of the evidence for daily, multi-day and yearly cycles in epileptic brain activity. They also discuss advances in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these cycles and the potential clinical applications of this knowledge.

    • Philippa J. Karoly
    • , Vikram R. Rao
    •  & Maxime O. Baud

  • Review Article |

    Biomarkers of epileptogenesis would enable identification of individuals who are risk of developing epilepsy after an insult or as a result of a genetic defect. In this article, Simonato et al. review progress towards such biomarkers and set out a five-phase roadmap to facilitate their development.

    • Michele Simonato
    • , Denes V. Agoston
    •  & Karen S. Wilcox

  • Review Article |

    The anti-seizure medications used to treat patients with epilepsy can improve symptoms but do not address the underlying cause of the condition. In this Review, the authors discuss the ongoing shift towards personalized treatments for specific epilepsy aetiologies.

    • Rima Nabbout
    •  & Mathieu Kuchenbuch

  • Comment |

    Despite the development of many new anti-seizure drugs over the past two decades, around one-third of individuals with epilepsy are without effective treatment. This pharmacoresistance is poorly understood, but new treatments targeting epileptogenesis instead of seizures have shown potential in animal models and are now being translated into the clinic.

    • Holger Lerche

  • News & Views |

    A recent study describes the yield and clinical utility of epilepsy gene panel testing in a cohort of adults with epilepsy and intellectual disability. These findings are similar to those in children with developmental epileptic encephalopathies and support the utility of testing in this subgroup of adults with epilepsy.

    • Ruth Ottman
    •  & Annapurna Poduri

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Brennan and Henshall discuss how microRNAs determine and control neuronal and glial functions, how this process is altered in states associated with hyperexcitability, and the prospects for microRNA targeting for the treatment of epilepsy.

    • Gary P. Brennan
    •  & David C. Henshall

  • Review Article |

    Zoonotic and vector-borne parasites are important preventable risk factors for epilepsy. The authors explore the pathophysiological basis of the link between parasitic infections and epilepsy and consider preventive and therapeutic approaches to reduce the epilepsy burden associated with parasitic disorders.

    • Gagandeep Singh
    • , Samuel A. Angwafor
    •  & Josemir W. Sander

  • News & Views |

    In the first published efficacy study of cenobamate for treatment-resistant focal seizures, high doses produced high seizure-free rates, suggesting cenobamate can outperform existing options. A risk of serious rash and low tolerability at higher doses means further safety studies and clinical experience are needed to determine its clinical value.

    • Jacqueline A. French

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Cristino, Bisogno and Di Marzo outline the biology of cannabinoids, the endocannabinoid system and the expanded endocannabinoid system and discuss the involvement of these systems and the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids across the spectrum of neurological disease.

    • Luigia Cristino
    • , Tiziana Bisogno
    •  & Vincenzo Di Marzo

  • Review Article |

    In patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, the success of surgery depends on predicting which resection or disconnection strategy will yield full seizure control. This Review highlights recent advances in presurgical assessment and discusses how concepts of focal epilepsy are changing.

    • Maeike Zijlmans
    • , Willemiek Zweiphenning
    •  & Nicole van Klink

  • Comment |

    Inflammatory processes contribute to neurological disorders, and many therapeutic breakthroughs in neurological disease have been immune-targeted. The choice of neuroinflammation as the theme for the 5th European Academy of Neurology Congress in 2019 and of this Focus issue highlights its importance to neurologists across the discipline.

    • Nils Erik Gilhus
    •  & Günther Deuschl

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Vezzani and colleagues discuss inflammatory pathways that are activated in pharmacoresistant epilepsy and can be modulated to therapeutic effect in animal models. They consider how targeting these pathways could overcome limitations of existing anti-epileptic treatments.

    • Annamaria Vezzani
    • , Silvia Balosso
    •  & Teresa Ravizza

  • Year in Review |

    Publications on epilepsy in 2018 have shed light on the aetiology and management of the condition and raised new questions. Translation from mechanisms to clinical practice, driven by cooperation among multiple fields, will be crucial to further advances.

    • Dong Zhou

  • News & Views |

    A nationwide German study of prescription data has demonstrated that switching to an antiepileptic drug from a different manufacturer increases the risk of seizure relapse. This finding sparks a debate about the reason for seizure worsening after switching and whether or not it is a pharmacological issue.

    • Martin Holtkamp

Browse broader subjects

Browse Epilepsy across other nature.com journals