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Posted on Jun 10, 2008, 8 p.m.
By Jeanelle Topping
A team of scientists in the US has discovered a channel in the brain which plays a role in the termination of epileptic seizures.
A team of scientists in the US has discovered a channel in the brain which plays a role in the termination of epileptic seizures.
Researchers at the University of Iowa and the Veterans Affairs Iowa City Health Care System identified a link between low pH levels in the brain and the process of stopping seizures via a reactive pathway (ASIC1a) in the brain.
Co-author of the study Adam Ziemann commented: "We found that ASIC1a does not seem to play a role in how a seizure starts, but as the seizure continues and the pH is reduced, ASIC1a appears to play a role in stopping additional seizure activity."
The findings, published in Nature Neuroscience Advance Online Publication, suggest that a defect in this brain channel could increase the likelihood of more severe seizures, while reducing levels of pH could help prevent them.
Figures estimate that two to four per cent of people will have a seizure at least once in their lifetime, with approximately 50 million people across the world having epilepsy at any one time.
