Zebrafish with genetic mutation used to test epilepsy drugs (wiki commons)
An antihistamine discovered in the 1950s and a mutant zebrafish potentially hold the key to a treatment for a severe form of epilepsy.
Dravet syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that begins in early childhood. It often has lifelong, disabling consequences, including dozens if not hundreds of seizures in an individual every day.
Researchers at the University of California San Francisco(UCSF)believe their find may also be used to find drugs for all forms of epilepsy.
Scott Baraban, lead author of the article published online inNature Communications, explained that zebrafish were increasingly being used in place of rodents to screen drugs for rare genetic disorders.
However, they had not been used for epilepsy until the team found that a zebrafish with the same genetic mutation as the one that causes Dravet syndrome.
The disorder develops because of mutations in the Scn1a gene, which is involved in regulating how charged ions to pass through the membranes of neurons. In Dravet syndrome, these channels let in too many ions and the neurons "over-fire", causing seizures.
Unlike some forms of epilepsy that can be targeted and treated surgically by removing malfunctioning brain tissue, genetic forms of the disease cannot because they involve neurons throughout the organ.
By accident, the team discovered that the antihistamine drug clemizole was effective in inhibiting seizure activity in zebrafish with the genetic mutation.
Completely unexpected
More here:
Mutant Zebrafish and Antihistamines Hold Hope for Severe Epilepsy Treatment