Anti-inflammatory drugs could treat epilepsy, research suggests
Monday 28th March 2011
Anti-inflammatory drugs could be the answer to treating epileptic seizures when anti-convulsants have failed, according to research at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Italy.
The researchers found that giving mice repeated doses of an enzyme inhibitor reduced both epileptic activity and seizures, suggesting a new route for patients who do not respond to established treatments.
An inhibitor for the enzyme ICE/Caspase-1 was testedin a mouse model of acute seizures, finding that it had powerful anticonvulsant effects.
The authors of the report, published in the journal Neurotherapeutics, said: "Our results support a new target system for anticonvulsant drug intervention.
"Our findings open new perspectives for the clinical use of this anti-inflammatory strategy for treating established drug-resistant epileptic conditions."
Meanwhile, a research team at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has outlined a new model that could help to predict serious adverse reactions to drugs, by using an artificial neural network.
Written by James Puckle
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