Medication is ineffective, what if you tried fat? This is the path that researchers at the University of Louvain in Belgium are following for the treatment of epilepsy. Initial results on the fruit fly or Drosophila raise hopes for an application in humans.
Drosophila have a protein called Skywalker which plays a key role in maintaining communication between brain cells. In their study published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, scientists discovered an equivalent in humans: the TBC1D24 protein. This connects with specific fats in the brain. If mutated, this protein malfunctions and can lead to severe disorders, such as epilepsy. In this disease, the brain is abnormally excited, the connections between neurons can become uncontrolled and excessive. This causes convulsive seizures: jerky movements, visual or auditory hallucinations, loss of consciousness.
A sufficiently fat brain
70% of epilepsy patients carry this mutation. Specific fats could therefore be a powerful ally in overcoming these dysfunctions. The researchers increased the concentration of specific lipids in the brains of Drosophila carrying the Skywalker mutation. They observed the total cessation of seizures. These data suggest that patients with TBC1D24 may benefit from fat intake in the brain. Scientists are now looking to develop ways to increase the concentration of these lipids in the brains of patients. They believe that this work could also be useful for people with epilepsy who do not carry the mutation. A hypothesis to be verified by subsequent studies.
To read also
Epilepsy: a single drug to stop seizures
Epilepsy: a virtual brain to better understand it
Epilepsy: sport to calm seizures
