What causes seizure in focal epilepsy?
In focal epilepsy, seizures are generated by a localised, synchronous neuronal electrical discharge that may spread to large portions of the brain. In spite of intense research in the field of epilepsy, a key question remains unanswered: what are the earliest cellular events leading to the initiation of a focal seizure? Elucidating this issue is of paramount importance both for understanding the pathophysiology of focal epilepsies and for the development of new pharmacological strategies for drug-resistant forms of these disorders. Publishing next week in the online, open access journal PLoS Biology, a new study reveals that early activation of astroglia, the main population of glial cells in the brain, by hyperactive neurones is one of the crucial events that predisposes neurones nearby to the generation of an epileptic discharge...