Research scientist Jianxiong Jiang, PhD, doesn’t just want to treat acquired epilepsy…he hopes to prevent it.
“Epilepsy is a common neurological condition that afflicts nearly three million Americans and 50 to 60 million people globally. The disease is featured by epileptic seizures due to unusual hypersynchronization and hyperexcitability of a group of brain neurons,” says Jiang, an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati (UC) James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.
Jiang is the principal investigator on a $1.75 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (#R01NS100947) for a five-year preclinical study on the signaling pathways underlying the development of acquired epilepsy. Unlike the genetic forms of epilepsy, acquired epilepsy often directly results from neurological insults such as strokes, traumatic brain injuries, brain infections and brain tumors.
Jiang will track the alterations of some key inflammatory mediators within the brain in animal models and study their potential roles in the development of acquired epilepsy. Jiang says he feels confident that the goal of “no seizures, no side effects, no comorbidities” in the management of epilepsy will be ultimately achieved one day through the collaborative efforts among the epilepsy research community: “Successful completion of this study might lead to the identification of novel molecular targets for the prevention strategies of acquired epilepsy.”