Abstract
Closed-loop brain stimulation is a promising alternative to treat drug-resistant epilepsies. In contrast to optogenetic interventions, transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) does not require cellular modification of neurons to be effective, and it is less invasive compared to deep brain stimulation. Furthermore, on-demand TES of targeted brain regions allows the potential for normal function of these networks during interictal periods, a possibility that is eliminated by resective surgical treatment approaches. To further explore the translation of closed-loop TES for treatment of epilepsy, we show here for the first time that unsupervised closed-loop TES in rats can consistently interrupt seizures for 6 weeks and has the potential to control seizure activity up to 4 months (longest periods examined). On-demand TES significantly reduced the time spent in seizure and the individual seizure duration, although significantly higher seizure rate was observed during the treatment. The 6 week long stimulation had no residual adverse effects on the electrophysiologic characteristics of the brain after the termination of the treatment and did not induce glial remodelling in the brain. Our findings demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of minimally invasive, potentially lifelong TES treatment of epilepsy either alone or as a complement to drug treatments.
Highlights
Epilepsy is a brain disorder that affects 1% of the population worldwide
Our results provide evidence that transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) can effectively control absence epileptic seizures in a closed loop fashion from days to months, and the treatment effect is instantaneous and does not deteriorate over time
The diffuse effect of the TES27, 28 may be remarkably beneficial in generalized seizures, where the pattern generation is the result of a distributed network even if the initiation is triggered from a specific location[29, 30]
Summary
Epilepsy is a brain disorder that affects 1% of the population worldwide. Regardless of the intensive efforts to develop new pharmacotherapies[1], antiepileptic drugs fail to adequately treat approximately one-third of the patients with epilepsy[2], and even responsive subjects often suffer from side effects[3]. The few studies focusing on longer time scales involve exclusively intracranial electrical stimulation[10, 12,13,14]. This method has the disadvantage of being more invasive compared to the TES and more importantly, the specific targeting of intracranial electrodes requires the clear initial identification of a small number of key seizure choke points[15,16,17,18,19,20]. Intervention system, which continuously supervises brain activity for months and provides on demand seizure interruption for the early termination of seizures, and to determine whether the effective on-demand TES treatment of epileptic seizures over an extended period of time leads to a long-term therapeutic effect
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
