New avenues to understanding epilepsy in rapid progressive dementia

The study has performed a comparative analysis of seizure susceptibility using mice with six different genetic backgrounds and several in vitro experiments.
The study has performed a comparative analysis of seizure susceptibility using mice with six different genetic backgrounds and several in vitro experiments.
Research
(30/07/2015)

Researchers at the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) —located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)—, together with members of the Centre for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), have revealed the role played by the cellular prion protein (PrPC) —which is associated with a plethora of biological functions including cell proliferation, differentiation and signalling— in epilepsy. Findings, published in the Nature group journal Scientific Reports, could lead to a better understanding of rapid neurodegenerative diseases that involve epileptic fits, such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD).

 

The study has performed a comparative analysis of seizure susceptibility using mice with six different genetic backgrounds and several in vitro experiments.
The study has performed a comparative analysis of seizure susceptibility using mice with six different genetic backgrounds and several in vitro experiments.
Research
30/07/2015

Researchers at the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) —located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)—, together with members of the Centre for Networked Biomedical Research on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), have revealed the role played by the cellular prion protein (PrPC) —which is associated with a plethora of biological functions including cell proliferation, differentiation and signalling— in epilepsy. Findings, published in the Nature group journal Scientific Reports, could lead to a better understanding of rapid neurodegenerative diseases that involve epileptic fits, such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD).

 

The study has performed a comparative analysis of seizure susceptibility using mice with six different genetic backgrounds and several in vitro experiments. In this way, it has been demonstrated that mice lacking PrPC showed an increased susceptibility to epileptic episodes leading to cell death in the hippocampal region. Dr José Antonio del Río, professor in the Department of Cell Biology of the UB and leader of the Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology group at IBEC, explains that “data support the notion that the protein is involved in neuroprotection against seizures, and that its lack actively participates in the increased epileptic response observed in mice, independently of the genetic background”.