Answers to a rare and tragic form of epilepsy
Tuesday, March 1, 2011 - 16:00
in Biology & Nature
A new study offers critical insight into the biochemistry of a rare and fatal form of epilepsy known as Lafora disease, a genetic condition that typically strikes children in their teens. The disease is characterized by the buildup of a "wrecked" form of glycogen, a stored form of glucose, in the brain and specifically in neurons. It now appears those errors and the structural problems they cause are all because the enzyme that normally builds glycogen is prone to making mistakes, according to the report in Cell Metabolism.