Closing the loop

A University College London team has developed a chemogenetically activated gene therapy for refractory focal epilepsy that inhibits seizure-generating neurons in response to increased extracellular glutamate levels, a hallmark of seizures. The approach could provide an alternative for drug-resistant patients who are ineligible for surgical resection.

Nearly a third of epilepsy patients receiving anti-epileptic small molecule therapies continue to have seizures while on treatment. ...