Astrocytes and epilepsy

Abstract

SummaryRecent advances in the understanding of the physiology of astrocytes have identified unexpected potential roles for glia in epilepsy. Reactive astrocytosis, as seen in epilepsy, leads to reduced adenosine‐ and γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA)–dependent inhibition. Because astrocytes express cell‐type specific proteins, the new findings raise the potential of new targets for drug development. For an expanded treatment of this topic see Jasper’s Basic Mechanisms of the Epilepsies, Fourth Edition (Noebels JL, Avoli M, Rogawski MA, Olsen RW, Delgado‐Escueta AV, eds) published by Oxford University Press (available on the National Library of Medicine Bookshelf [NCBI] at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books).