Current Medicinal Chemistry - Volume 21, Issue 6, 2014

Neuronal synchronization supports different physiological states such as cognitive functions and sleep, and it is mirrored by identifiable EEG patterns ranging from gamma to delta oscillations. However, excessive neuronal synchronization is often the hallmark of epileptic activity in both generalized and partial epileptic disorders. Here, I will review the synchronizing mechanisms involved in generating epileptiform activity i Read More

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is frequently associated with hippocampal sclerosis, possibly caused by a primary brain injury that occurred a long time before the appearance of neurological symptoms. This type of epilepsy is characterized by refractoriness to drug treatment, so to require surgical resection of mesial temporal regions involved in seizure onset. Even this last therapeutic approach may fail in giving relief to pat Read More

Currently available antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were developed to suppress seizure activity but less for prevention of epileptogenesis or for treatment of epileptogenic encephalopathies. Despite considerable efforts towards pharmacological control of seizures, about 30 % of epileptic patients do not achieve complete seizure control, and these numbers are even higher in patients suffering from partial seizures - a com Read More

The WAG/Rij model is a well characterized and validated genetic animal epilepsy model in which the for absence epilepsy highly characteristic spike-wave discharges (SWDs) develop spontaneously. In this review we discuss first some older and many new studies, with an emphasis on pharmacological and neurochemical studies towards the role of GABA and glutamate and the ion channels involved in the pathological fi Read More

Despite notable success over years in the discovery and development of new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), about 30-40% of the patients are resistant to drug treatment. There is a still significant need to develop novel AEDs that demonstrate superior efficacy, broad spectrum of activities and good safety profile. The synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPA-R) an Read More

Although glial proliferation of the epileptic loci is recognized for more than a century in certain focal epilepsies, the role of astrocytes in epileptic conditions is receiving significant attention only in recent years. The present review will highlight current knowledge about the various ways astrocytes control neuronal excitability and contribute to genesis, maintenance and suppression of seizures. Besides the widely recogniz Read More

Neuropeptides are signaling molecules participating in the modulation of synaptic transmission. Neuropeptides are stored in dense core synaptic vesicles, the release of which requires profound excitation. Only in the extracellular space, neuropeptides act on G-protein coupled receptors to exert a relatively slow action both pre- and postsynaptically. Consequently, neuropeptide modulators are ideal candidates to influence e Read More

Despite newly developed antiepileptic drugs to suppress epileptic symptoms, approximately one third of patients remain drug refractory. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop more effective therapeutic approaches to treat epilepsy. A great deal of evidence suggests that endogenous nucleosides, such as adenosine (Ado), guanosine (Guo), inosine (Ino) and uridine (Urd), participate in the regulation of path Read More