How a stem cell transplant can help stop epileptic seizures

For some patients with epilepsy, a one-time ‘injection’ of stem cells could be an effective treatment.

The treatment is believed to help by increasing the production of a chemical in the brain called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which calms electrical activity in the area of ​​the brain that causes seizures.

The first two patients to receive the therapy, called NRTX-1001, had a more than 95 percent reduction in their seizures a year after the injection, according to preliminary findings presented at the International Society for Stem Cell Research meeting in Boston. last year.

Data presented to the American Academy of Neurology last month shows the treatment has been successful in a further two patients.

More than 630,000 people in Britain suffer from epilepsy and, due to sudden bursts of electrical activity in their brains, experience seizures.

Under general anesthesia, a needle, guided by an MRI scanner, is placed into the part of the brain that is causing the seizures. The cells are released to people with epilepsy and can help treat patients.

Current treatments include medications to change the levels of chemicals in the brain that control electrical activity.

But for 30 percent of patients, these drugs don’t work, according to the US National Institutes of Health. Surgery to remove part of the brain that causes the seizures is offered to some, but carries a risk of memory and vision impairment. issues.

It is hoped that the new therapy, developed by Neurona Therapeutics, a company based in California, can help people for whom medication does not work and who may not want surgery.

The new injections contain cells derived from human stem cells, which can turn into any type of cell.

These are grown in a special medium in a laboratory to encourage them to turn into interneurons, a type of cell in the brain that secretes GABA, which calms the excitable nerve networks and electrical signals that cause seizures.

Under general anesthesia, a needle, guided by an MRI scanner, is placed into the part of the brain causing the seizures and the cells are released.

The patients go home the next day. They are also given immunosuppressive drugs for a year to ensure that their immune system does not reject the stem cells.

The therapy does not work immediately, because the transplanted cells need five to seven months to start producing GABA in sufficient quantities.

All the people in the recent trial, which started in 2022, had a common form of epilepsy: mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.

While four improved with treatment, one did not, but no one in the study group experienced serious side effects.

A larger study involving 30 patients is planned for next year.

Commenting on the research, Matthew Walker, professor of neurology at University College London, said: ‘This new trial shows exciting preliminary results. It could offer an alternative to surgical intervention for this type of epilepsy and for people who do not respond to medication.’