Targeting The mTOR Pathway In Glioma-Associated Epilepsy In Mice And Humans

Epilepsy is the most common presenting symptom of an adult glioma. A multidisciplinary team will study a mouse glioma model that closely parallels the human disease to determine when seizures arise, and we will see if we can prevent or treat seizures by blocking the mTOR pathway with an oral drug that is FDA approved for human use. We will also use EEG brain recordings before and during human surgery to determine the “seizure prone” electrically abnormal areas on the margins of tumors. Finally, we will establish a pre-clinical study in glioma patients in which we give patients an mTOR inhibitor the day prior to surgery and then study the resected tumor tissue to see whether this treatment decreases mTOR pathway activation and electrical excitability in the cells around the tumors.