Isoketals As Mediators Of Epileptogenesis

The goal of Drs. Patel and Roberts’s study is to determine the role of gamma-ketoaldehydes in cognitive impairment associated with chronic epilepsy. Gamma-ketoaldehydes are highly reactive products of lipid (fat) oxidation that bind to and crosslink proteins and DNA. They will utilize a multidisciplinary approach to determine if gamma-ketoaldehyde formation occurs in a model of chronic epilepsy and whether pharmacological scavenging of gamma-ketoaldehydes inhibits cognitive decline and/or the development of epilepsy. These studies could lead to the development of novel gamma-ketoaldehyde scavengers for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction associated with acquired epilepsy.