Researchers link stress and epilepsy
Researchers at Robarts Research Institute have shown that epilepsy changes the way the brain reacts to stress and have used these findings to point to new drugs that may prevent stress-induced seizures. Studies have shown that as the disease produces changes in neuronal signalling, that increases seizure occurrence by converting a beneficial stress response into an epileptic trigger.
Michael Poulter, PhD, and his team studied a neurotransmitter called corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) that coordinates many behavioural responses to stress in the central nervous system. Using a rat-model of epilepsy, they examined the effect of this neurotransmitter on the piriform cortex, a region of the brain that easily supports seizures in humans.
They found that in a normal brain, CRF diminished the activity of this seizureproducing part of the brain. But in the diseased brain, it did the exact opposite—ramping up the activity of the piriform cortex instead.
Further, they identified a switch in the molecular signalling in the brain. In the model of epilepsy, the CRF switches from signalling through one cascade to one that’s completely different. The researchers discovered that the catalyst for this is a protein in the brain called regulator of G protein signalling protein type 2 (RGS2).
The research indicates that CRF-blocking drugs might prevent stress-induced seizures in epileptic patients.
