Neuronal alterations leading to increased seizure susceptibility and pharmacological rescue in a pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease

 

• Speaker: Dr. Cristina Marchetti European Brain Research Institute - Rita Levi Montalcini , Rome
• Title: Neuronal alterations leading to increased seizure susceptibility and pharmacological rescue in a pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease -
• Researcher Host: Silvia Middei

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Abstract:  Epilepsy is a comorbidity associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), often starting many years earlier than memory decline. Investigating this association in the early pre-symptomatic stages of AD can unveil new mechanisms of the pathology as well as guide the use of antiepileptic drugs to prevent or delay hyperexcitability-related pathological effects of AD. In our recent work, we investigated the impact of seizures on hippocampal memory and amyloid-β load in a pre-symptomatic transgenic mouse model of AD. We then investigated the electrophysiological alterations that could be responsible for increased susceptibility to seizures and memory deficits and identified the anti-epileptic drug lamotrigine as a candidate to prevent the detrimental effects of seizures in the early phases of the pathology.