Discovery of a gene playing a key role in the mechanism of conversion of a healthy brain into an epileptic one
Temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common form of epilepsy in adults. It usually appears after some form of trauma to the brain, such as head injury or an infection like meningitis. In the framework of the projects ANTARES and MINOS funded by the ANR, Christophe Bernard, Head of Research at Inserm, and his team in Marseille (Inserm Unit 751 “Epilepsy and Cognition”), in collaboration with an American team, have discovered a gene that plays a key role in the mechanism underlying the conversion of a healthy brain into an epileptic brain. This gene is activated in the wake of some initial trauma to the brain and controls the expression of 1,800 other genes the disturbance of which plays a role in constructing an epileptic brain. The therapeutic interest of inhibiting the action of this “switch gene” in rats is immediately obvious.
