Neuron-glia Interactions in the Pathophysiology of Epilepsy

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2019 Feb 23

PMID 30792501

Citations 169

Authors

Dipan C Patel

Bhanu P Tewari

Lata Chaunsali

Harald Sontheimer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder afflicting ~65 million people worldwide. It is caused by aberrant synchronized firing of populations of neurons primarily due to imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission. Hence, the historical focus of epilepsy research has been neurocentric. However, the past two decades have enjoyed an explosion of research into the role of glia in supporting and modulating neuronal activity, providing compelling evidence of glial involvement in the pathophysiology of epilepsy. The mechanisms by which glia, particularly astrocytes and microglia, may contribute to epilepsy and consequently could be harnessed therapeutically are discussed in this Review.

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