New research finds that two key brain proteins are involved in the neuronal misfiring that characterizes epilepsy. The findings “could potentially change textbooks” on epilepsy, according to the researchers, as well as pave the way for new therapies.

Share on Pinterest Mapping the patterns of neuronal activity in the brain could change therapies for epilepsy.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimate that 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most widespread neurological conditions in the world.

In the United States, 3.4 million people — or 1.2 percent of the population — live with the condition.

In epilepsy, parts of the brain get an abnormally high level of electrical signals, which disrupts its normal neurological function.

A healthy-functioning brain relies on electrical signals that nerve cells send to one another.

Gaining a better understanding of the dynamic between nerve cells could lead to better treatments for epilepsy. New research brings us closer to achieving this goal.

Neuroscientists led by Rochelle Hines, a researcher at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, set out to investigate how brain proteins interact to regulate the electrical signaling of neurons.

According to Hines, the findings — which she and team have now published in the journal Nature Communications — “could potentially change textbooks” on epilepsy, as they revolutionize the researchers’ understanding of what controls the firing of neurons in the disorder.