Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Neurosteroid Replacement Therapy For Catamenial Epilepsy, Doodipala S. Reddy, Michael A. Rogawski
Neurosteroid Replacement Therapy For Catamenial Epilepsy, Doodipala S. Reddy, Michael A. Rogawski
Michael A. Rogawski
Perimenstural catamenial epilepsy, the cyclical occurrence of seizure exacerbations near the time of menstruation, affects a high proportion of women of reproductive age with drug refractory epilepsy. Enhanced seizure susceptibility in perimenstrual catamenial epilepsy is believed to be due to the withdrawal of the progesterone-derived GABA-A receptor modulating neurosteroid allopregnanolone as a result of the fall in progesterone at the time of menstruation. Studies in a rat pseudopregnancy model of catamenial epilepsy indicate that following neurosteroid withdrawal there is enhanced susceptibility to chemoconvulsant seizures. There is also a transitory increase in the frequency of spontaneous seizures in epleptic rats that …
Intrinsic Severity As A Determinant Of Antiepileptic Drug Refractoriness, Michael A. Rogawski, Michael R. Johnson
Intrinsic Severity As A Determinant Of Antiepileptic Drug Refractoriness, Michael A. Rogawski, Michael R. Johnson
Michael A. Rogawski
For the most part, resistance to medications in epilepsy is independent of the choice of antiepileptic drug. This simple clinical observation constrains the possible biological mechanisms for drug refractory epilepsy by imposing a requirement to explain resistance for a diverse set of chemical structures that act on an even more varied group of molecular targets. To date, research on antiepileptic drug refractoriness has been guided by the “drug transporter overexpression” and the “reduced drug-target sensitivity” hypotheses. These concepts posit that drug refractoriness is a condition separate from the underlying epilepsy. Inadequacies in both hypotheses mandate a fresh approach to the …