Irish researchers discover potential way to warn epilepsy sufferers of oncoming seizures

Irish researchers have discovered a potential new way to warn people when they are going to have an epileptic seizure.

An examination of the blood has found a pattern of molecules that appear before an attack happens - according to FutureNero and The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland researchers.

Dr Marion Hogg, FutureNeuro investigator and lead author of the breakthrough report said: “People with epilepsy often report that one of the most difficult aspects of living with the disease is never knowing when a seizure will occur.

“The results of this study are very promising. We hope that our tRNA research will be a key first step toward developing an early warning system.”

Using blood samples from people with epilepsy at the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in Beaumont Hospital, Dublin and in a similar specialist centre in Germany, the group found that fragment levels of three tRNAs “spike” in the blood many hours before a seizure.

Dr Marion Hogg, Honorary Lecturer at RCSI and FutureNeuro investigator, who is the lead author of the study that found a pattern of molecules that appear in the blood before a seizure happens, which may lead to the development of an early warning system for those with epilepsy. Photograph: Maxwell Photography (Maxwell Photography)

These molecules are fragments of transfer RNAs (tRNAs), a chemical closely related to DNA that performs an important role in building proteins within the cell.

When cells are stressed, tRNAs are cut into fragments. Higher levels of the fragments in the blood could reflect that brain cells are under stress in the build up to a seizure event.

Around 40,000 people in Ireland have epilepsy and one third of those do not respond to current treatments, meaning they continue to experience seizures.

The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy.

Professor David Henshall, Director of FutureNeuro and co-author on the report said: “New technologies to remove the unpredictability of uncontrolled seizures for people with epilepsy are a very real possibility.

Pictured is Professor David Henshall, Professor of Molecular Physiology and Neuroscience at RCSI and Director of FutureNeuro, who co-authored a paper that has found a pattern of molecules that appear in the blood before a seizure happens, which may lead to the development of an early warning system for those with epilepsy. (Patrick Bolger)

“Building on this research we in FutureNeuro hope to develop a test prototype, similar to a blood sugar monitor that can potentially predict when a seizure might occur.”

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder which affects the brain - n half of cases there is no known cause.

Some causes include genetic abnormalities or structural problems in the brain like malformed veins or areas which have not developed normally.

According to Epilepsy Ireland, a seizure occurs when ordinary brain activity is suddenly disrupted.

A seizure can be described as an internal electrical storm. It is the consequence of abnormal, excessive discharges of nerve cells.

Seizures can be triggered by missed medication, too much alcohol, lack of sleep, stress, and illnesses or fevers.

Researchers at FutureNeuro, the SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Diseases, hosted at RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) led the study.

The report has been published in the current edition of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.