Abstract
Models of seizures and epilepsy continue to play an important role in the early discovery of new therapies for the symptomatic treatment of epilepsy. Since the discovery of phenytoin in the 1930s, almost all antiseizure drugs (ASDs) have been identified by their effects in animal models, and millions of patients have profited from the successful translation of animal data into the clinic. However, several unmet clinical needs remain, including resistance to ASDs in about 30% of patients with epilepsy, adverse effects of ASDs that can reduce quality of life, and the lack of treatments that can prevent development of epilepsy in patients at risk following brain injury. This minireview, which serves as an introduction to the Neuromethods volume Experimental and Translational Methods to Screen Drugs Effective Against Seizures and Epilepsy,, briefly introduces the challenges and opportunities for in vivo and in vitro models of seizures and epilepsy and how such models may help to develop the next generation of drug therapies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Devinsky O, Vezzani A, O’Brien TJ, Jette N, Scheffer IE, De Curtis M, Perucca P (2018) Epilepsy. Nat Rev Dis Primers 4:18024
Berg AT, Berkovic SF, Brodie MJ, Buchhalter J, Cross JH, van Emde BW, Engel J, French J, Glauser TA, Mathern GW, Moshe SL, Nordli D, Plouin P, Scheffer IE (2010) Revised terminology and concepts for organization of seizures and epilepsies: report of the ILAE Commission on Classification and Terminology, 2005–2009. Epilepsia 51:676–685
Klein P, Dingledine R, Aronica E, Bernard C, Blümcke I, Boison D, Brodie MJ, Brooks-Kayal AR, Engel J Jr, Forcelli PA, Hirsch LJ, Kaminski RM, Klitgaard H, Kobow K, Lowenstein DH, Pearl PL, Pitkänen A, Puhakka N, Rogawski MA, Schmidt D, Sillanpää M, Sloviter RS, Steinhauser C, Vezzani A, Walker MC, Löscher W (2018) Commonalities in epileptogenic processes from different acute brain insults: do they translate? Epilepsia 59:37–66
Löscher W, Klitgaard H, Twyman RE, Schmidt D (2013) New avenues for antiepileptic drug discovery and development. Nat Rev Drug Discov 12:757–776
Rho JM, White HS (2018) Brief history of anti-seizure drug development. Epilepsia Open 3:114–119
Klein P, Friedman A, Hameed M, Kaminski R, Bar-Klein G, Klitgaard H, Koepp M, Jozwiak S, Prince D, Rotenberg A, Vezzani A, Wong M, Löscher W (2020) Repurposed molecules for antiepileptogenesis: missing an opportunity to prevent epilepsy? Epilepsia 61:359–386
Kehne JH (2017) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP). Neurochem Res 42:1894–1903
Löscher W (2016) Fit for purpose application of currently existing animal models in the discovery of novel epilepsy therapies. Epilepsy Res 126:157–184
Löscher W (2011) Critical review of current animal models of seizures and epilepsy used in the discovery and development of new antiepileptic drugs. Seizure 20:359–368
Löscher W, Jäckel R, Czuczwar SJ (1986) Is amygdala kindling in rats a model for drug-resistant partial epilepsy? Exp Neurol 93:211–226
Demarest ST, Brooks-Kayal A (2018) From molecules to medicines: the dawn of targeted therapies for genetic epilepsies. Nat Rev Neurol 14:735–745
Wang J, Lin ZJ, Liu L, Xu HQ, Shi YW, Yi YH, He N, Liao WP (2017) Epilepsy-associated genes. Seizure 44:11–20
Noebels J (2015) Pathway-driven discovery of epilepsy genes. Nat Neurosci 18:344–350
Moller RS, Hammer TB, Rubboli G, Lemke JR, Johannesen KM (2019) From next-generation sequencing to targeted treatment of non-acquired epilepsies. Expert Rev Mol Diagn 19:217–228
Wong M (2013) A critical review of MTOR inhibitors and epilepsy: from basic science to clinical trials. Expert Rev Neurother 13:657–669
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this protocol
Cite this protocol
Löscher, W. (2021). Models of Seizures and Epilepsy: Important Tools in the Discovery and Evaluation of Novel Epilepsy Therapies. In: Vohora, D. (eds) Experimental and Translational Methods to Screen Drugs Effective Against Seizures and Epilepsy. Neuromethods, vol 167. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1254-5_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-1254-5_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-1253-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-1254-5
eBook Packages: Springer Protocols