Full Cure For Epilepsy - Is this the end of Epilepsy?

Full Cure For Epilepsy – Is this the end of Epilepsy?

Is This the End to Epilepsy?

We have all heard of epilepsy, but we do not understand the seriousness of this disorder until we witness it ourselves. Sudden seizures due to some abnormal activity in the brain. When people don’t have the correct knowledge about something, then they start developing myths about it, and epilepsy is one such disease.

These unpredicted seizures affect the normal life of individuals suffering from this neurological disorder. 

It is quite surprising that the prevalence of epilepsy is 4-10 per 1000 individuals worldwide.

A collaboration between 40 research groups all over the world, has released its collected data in an interactive web portal for further research. The study of genes that are linked to epilepsy can now allow more personalized and targeted investigation of the different mechanisms that play an important role.

This collective data is extremely valuable for further research as epilepsy can vary from person to person in terms of its causes, severity, and the way it affects people, making it very difficult to study. 

“The role of genetic contributions to epilepsy has been long recognized, yet delineating the full range of

genetic effects on the epilepsies remains a core challenge.”

The team of researchers who worked collecting this immense data, they focused on exomes of DNA, that directly code for amino acids that are involved in making proteins. Variations in these exomes have a pivotal role in increasing the risk of diseases in general, which makes them suitable for the study of potential gene links for epilepsy. 

Researchers have used whole-exome sequencing (WES) that accurately scans the DNA fragments that are most likely to be connected with the disease. They compared the genes of 20,979 people with epilepsy to those of 33,444 people without the disorder.

Scientists have looked for some ultra-rare variants if these ultra-rare variants are present only in epilepsy patients, then it clearly suggests that these ultra-rare variants play a significant role in this disorder. Upon further research, the team decided upon seven specific genes, three gene gets, and four specific variations inside the genes, all of which were biological clues in this mysterious case of epilepsy.

The changes in genes were found to be closely related to neuron signaling, and helping to keep the pathways in the brain working properly. Now if we try to relate, it all makes sense that disruptions in these signals can cause seizures and other symptoms of epilepsy.

As the group of researchers, compared their results to other large-scale whole exome sequencing studies, they also came across some strong evidence that these rare variants can increase the risk of epilepsy overlapping with some other rare variants that increase the risk of other neurodevelopmental disorders. 

However, further studies are required to understand the techniques through which these genes could be manipulated through various treatments, and that could potentially prevent the brain’s wiring from being disrupted in ways that are reasons that cause epilepsy.

“The ongoing sequencing and genotyping efforts, together with the ever-increasing scale of genetic association studies, will continue to expand and refine understanding,” write the researchers, “and hopefully enable a move toward more targeted treatment approaches.”

This study offers a strong platform for further studies and research on epilepsy and is ray a of hope for epilepsy patients. This cumulative data helps us understand the disease better and can mark the beginning of the end of this disease, by paving the way for some groundbreaking research and development of new and potent drugs. These advancements could revolutionize healthcare and bring us close to eradicating this disease. This could be a boon for those millions of people who are fighting this disease.

Full Cure For Epilepsy – Is this the end of Epilepsy?

Diluxi Arya
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