This discovery could improve memory, reduce seizures, and even completely prevent some cases from developing epilepsy, as the results on mice have shown.
Temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with recurrent seizures and impaired cognitive function, and is also linked to premature aging of brain cells, making it more difficult to treat.
This type of epilepsy can result from brain injuries caused by trauma or strokes, infections such as meningitis, brain tumors, vascular malformations, or genetic syndromes.
Researchers examined brain tissue surgically removed from the temporal lobes of people with epilepsy and found a fivefold increase in age-producing glial cells compared to tissue from people without the condition. These cells support neurons but do not generate electrical signals.
After examining human brain tissue, the researchers turned to studying a mouse model that mimics temporal lobe epilepsy. During the first two weeks after the initial injury, the team observed clear signs of brain cell aging, similar to those found in the tissues of human patients.
The researchers relied on the removal of senescent cells as a therapeutic method, either genetically or pharmacologically. This process resulted in a 50% reduction in the percentage of senescent cells, improved the mice's ability to navigate mazes, reduced seizure severity, and prevented a third of the animals from developing epilepsy altogether.
To achieve this pharmacological effect, a combination of two drugs was used: dasatinib, an approved targeted therapy for leukemia, and quercetin, a plant flavonoid known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
This mixture has previously been used to remove senescent cells in other animal models, and is in clinical trial phases for treating various diseases, allowing for a rapid transition to human trials.
Patrick A. Forcelli, the lead author and professor of pharmacology and physiology, notes that cell therapy may reduce the need for surgery or improve its outcomes. He added that studies are underway using other drugs that may affect aging, as well as other rodent models of epilepsy, with the goal of understanding the critical periods for intervention and achieving clinically effective treatments.
The team is also studying the relationship between glial cell aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, which opens up prospects for scientific research and future treatments.
The results were published in the journal Annals of Neurology.
