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Neuroscientists make major breakthrough in epilepsy study
Monday, February 09, 2015
The Royal College of Surgeons
By Noel Baker
Senior Reporter
Neuroscientists at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland have made a major
breakthrough in uncovering why epilepsy occurs.
The research focuses on understanding what controls gene activity in epilepsy and may also
help to explain why epileptic states can be so persistent. The study will be published next
month in the neurology journal Brain and is the first of its kind.
Epilepsy affects about 37,000 people in Ireland and one of the authors believes the study
could potentially offer new targets for reversing the condition.
Given that epilepsy is often associated with altered levels of genes in the brain, the
researchers looked for a chemical change to DNA called methylation, which acts as a longlasting on/off switch for gene activity and thought to be one way that brain cells store
biochemical memories.
More than 30,000 gene sites were studied as part of the research project using brain tissue
from patients with epilepsy, including many not previously linked to the condition.
The research found in some cases, the more DNA methylation that occurred, the more gene
activity was turned off. It also found that certain types of genes are more likely than others to
be under this type of control.
Lead author of the study, Suzanne Miller-Delaney, said: “It specifically aligns deterioration of
parts of the brain with structural changes in patient DNA and gene activity.
“The study can help us to understand what is controlling gene activity in epilepsy and why
the epileptic state can be so persistent.”
David Henshall from the RCSI Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, and the
principal investigator of the project, said: “This study could potentially offer new targets for
reversing epilepsy once established.”
The research project was supported by a grant from Epilepsy Ireland, The Health Research
Board, and Science Foundation Ireland.
Meanwhile, researchers from Dublin City University are to lead the first ever European-wide
survey on the economic effect of autism on countries.
The Autism Spectrum Disorders in Europe has been funded by the European Commission
and will focus on some 14 countries.
DCU researchers have already carried out the first autism prevalence study, Autism Counts,
in primary schools across Ireland, with the results due to be published later this year.
Specialists in different European countries will share findings as the survey progresses.