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. 2009 Apr;6(2):295–299. doi: 10.1016/j.nurt.2009.01.013

Commentary: The prospect of cell-based therapy for epilepsy

Arnold R Kriegstein 1,2,✉, Asla Pitkänen 3,4
PMCID: PMC5084206  PMID: 19332322

Summary

About 30% of patient with epilepsy do not respond to available antiepileptic drugs. In addition to seizure suppression, novel approaches are needed to prevent or alleviate epileptogenic process after various types of brain injuries. The use of cell transplants as factories to produce endogeneous anticonvulsants or as bricks to repair abnormal ictogenic and epileptogenic neuronal circuits has generated hope that cell-based therapies could become a novel therapeutic category in the treatment arsenal of epilepsy. Herein we summarize the current status and future perspectives of cell-based therapies in the treatment of epilepsy.

Key Words: Brain, disease modification, drug-refractory epilepsy, epileptogenesis, genetically-engineered cell lines, transplantation

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