‘Excitotoxicity’ is a phenomenon closely linked to epilepsy. It happens when nerve cells in the brain get too much stimulation, which can lead to cell damage and death. Dr. Van Eersel’s team discovered that a protein called Tau enables excitotoxicity in the brain. They further found that an enzyme known as p38 kinase can modify Tau to stop excitotoxicity. The team developed a gene therapy to boost p38 kinase activity. When this therapy was tested in animals with epilepsy, they found that it reduced abnormal EEG activity and seizure severity. In this study, the team will optimize this therapy for potential human clinical studies.
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