Researchers from UC San Francisco, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Berkeley have developed a new light-based treatment method for epilepsy. The team successfully prevented seizure-like activity in neurons using light pulses in what could become a new optogenetics treatment method.
In their research, published in Nature Neuroscience, the team delivered light-sensitive genes using a harmless virus to specific neurons that can be switched on or off with light pulses. The research is the first successful demonstration of optogenetics being used to control seizure activity in the human brain.
"This represents a giant step toward a powerful new way of treating epilepsy and likely other conditions," said Tomasz Nowakowski, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neurological surgery.
In normal conditions, neuron communications happen in a predictable low chatter manner, but during a seizure, the chatter synchronizes into large bursts of electrical activity that overwhelm the brain. The team hoped to prevent these bursts of activity by using light pulses to switch off neurons containing light-sensitive proteins.
By using optogenetics, the team could see not only which, but how many neurons were needed to start a seizure. Additionally, they determined the lowest intensity of light required to change the electrical activity of the neurons in live brain tissue.
The researchers believe the technique could soon provide a less invasive treatment option for patients whose symptoms are not easily controlled with medication. "We'll be able to give people much more subtle, effective control over their seizures while saving them from such an invasive surgery," added Edward Chang, the chair of Neurological Surgery at UCSF.