Epilepsy

Our goal is understanding the different forms of epilepsy and developing new ways to treat this potentially devastating disease. Over 1% of the population has epilepsy - more than 50% of these patients develop their first seizure in childhood. We work to understand the underlying causes of human epilepsies, from faults in specific cell types, to changes across brain circuits. This may also explain other genetically determined developmental problems often found in people coping with seizures that start in late adolescence or adult life. This suggests that specific developmental changes may precede most epilepsies. The aim of this research programme is to shed light on the mechanisms underlying human epilepsies, from specific cellular defects to network abnormalities.

Our key questions:

• What are the genetic causes of epilepsies?
• How are changes in genes and environment linked to changes in epilepsy-specific cells and brain circuits?
• What are the links between the developmental changes found in late onset epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a key research theme of the MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, which brings together world-leading researchers across King's College London.

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