EPILEPSY may be sparked by a metal imbalance in the brain caused by a single gene mutation.
Steven Clapcote's team at the University of Leeds, UK, found that mice with a mutated copy of the Atp1a3 gene were prone to epileptic seizures, which could be prevented in their offspring by breeding with mice that possessed multiple copies of the normal gene (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0904817106).
Clapcote reckons the gene helps regulate sodium and potassium levels in brain nerve cells. A metal imbalance has long been suspected to lead to seizures, he notes.
The team is now screening DNA from people with epilepsy to see if human Atp1a3 could be to blame.
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