University of Virginia Research Provides Better Understanding of Alzheimer’s, Epilepsy
July 23, 2024
Article Published by WRIC ABC 8News
*Featuring the work of CURE Epilepsy Grantee, Harald Sontheimer, PhD
Researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine have discovered functions of structures in the brain that could help understand and treat several neurological disorders. Harald Sontheimer, PhD, chairman of the Department of Neuroscience, and his team — led by Bhanu Tewari, PhD — discovered that problems with “perineuronal nets” in the brain could be causing neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and schizophrenia. The new research found that these nets play a critical function as barriers that allow for neurons to communicate correctly. When they were disrupted in lab mice, it resulted in seizures like what is seen in epilepsy and changes in the brain as seen in Alzheimer’s disease. “It is remarkable that over a century after these structures were first discovered we are finally uncovering how important they are for normal brain function,” Sontheimer said. “As these nets are readily attacked by enzymes that are released in conjunction with inflammation, this discovery will help us reevaluate the impact that tissue inflammation may have on neuronal signaling.”