How This Could Spur Seizures in MS Patients
Researchers at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine have identified a pathway involving astrocytes, a class of central nervous system support cells, that could shed light on why seizures occur in some multiple sclerosis patients. The study was published in
While not classically considered a defining symptom of the disease, seizures occur three times more often in MS patients than healthy individuals and may portend a flare-up of symptoms. MS patients that experience seizures also have a decreased quality of life and higher mortality rate. The mechanisms that cause seizures in MS patients remains poorly understood.
Researchers explore why seizures happen in a subset of MS patients
A research team at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine has identified a pathway involving astrocytes, a class of central nervous system support cells, that could shed light on why seizures happen in a subset of multiple sclerosis, or MS, patients.
Study results, available in
ASN Neuro, improve scientific understanding of how seizures arise in MS and could provide the foundation for better therapies to manage treatment-resistant seizures in MS and other brain diseases.
Characterized by progressive episodic decline in neurological function, MS affects more than 900,000 people in the United States. This autoimmune disease damages the fatty sheath myelin that protects nerve fibers, which hinders the speed of signals in the central nervous system. While not classically considered a defining symptom of the disease, seizures occur three-times more often in MS patients than healthy individuals
Credit: Tiwari-Woodruff lab, UC Riverside.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. A research team at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine has identified a pathway involving astrocytes, a class of central nervous system support cells, that could shed light on why seizures happen in a subset of multiple sclerosis, or MS, patients.
ASN Neuro, improve scientific understanding of how seizures arise in MS and could provide the foundation for better therapies to manage treatment-resistant seizures in MS and other brain diseases.
Characterized by progressive episodic decline in neurological function, MS affects more than 900,000 people in the United States. This autoimmune disease damages the fatty sheath myelin that protects nerve fibers, which hinders the speed of signals in the central nervous system. While not classically considered a defining symptom of the disease, seizures occur three-times more often in MS patients than healthy individuals and may portend a flare-up of symp