Study says gene therapy could help fight neurological disorders

Researchers at University College London (UCL) in the UK have published in the journal Science, a pioneering study on the treatment of epileptic seizures that could also translate into treatments for other neurological disorders.

Epilepsy is characterized by a change in the way neurons communicate. Cells in a particular area of ​​the brain are overstimulated, causing real electrical storms.

This overactivation can cause fainting, seizures, and cognitive loss if not managed properly. However, there are some difficulties in treatment.

In these cases, medicalization is difficult to control and current treatments, whether traditional or genetic, are effective in all areas of the brain and can produce undesirable side effects.

But the new therapy proposed by the UCL researchers manages to select only the overactive cells, keeping those with normal functioning.

In tests on mice with epilepsy, the new gene therapy proved effective in 80% of cases and spontaneously reduced seizures.

The method includes promoting a receptor acting on potassium channels of cells in crisis, inhibiting superactivation, and ultimately reducing and controlling crises.

With positive results, the team already envisions further uses of the new technique that could revolutionize the way it treats not only epilepsy but also other neurological disorders.

“Importantly, it can, in principle, be extended to many other disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, and pain disorders in which certain brain circuits are overactive,” says Dimitri Kullmann, a professor at the UCL Institute of Neurology.

In addition, data point to a treatment with fewer side effects, as the receptors act only on cells with hyperactive behavior.