Taking the inflammation out of epilepsy

Italian and U.S. researchers have proposed treating epileptic seizures by targeting an inflammatory pathway outside the blood-brain barrier: leukocyte migration and recruitment.¹ The strategy potentially could help patients whose seizures are not adequately controlled by existing epilepsy drugs, while also avoiding the psychiatric side effects of those treatments.

Epilepsy drugs that target receptors in the brain are not always successful at blocking seizures, suggesting they may not address the underlying cause of disease in some patients. Moreover, many of the drugs are associated with psychiatric side effects. Indeed, last month, the FDA started requiring antiepileptic drug labels to warn of increased risk of suicidality...