In China, therapy reduced seizure frequency by 92.6% — South China Morning Post

In China’s first clinical trial of chemogenetic neuromodulation, the average frequency of epileptic seizures in three patients with drug-resistant epilepsy decreased by 92.6% two months after the procedure. This was reported by South China Morning Post.

The study involved three men aged 28 to 37 with mesial temporal epilepsy and hippocampal sclerosis. They had lived with a confirmed diagnosis for 10 to 25 years, had not responded to at least two antiseizure medications, and had not previously undergone epilepsy surgery.

How the method works

Under magnetic resonance imaging guidance, patients received 0.5 to 1 ml of GA002 in areas of hippocampal lesions. The viral vector is intended to ensure expression of the artificial hM4D receptor in neurons near the affected area. This receptor is activated by clozapine, a drug previously used to treat schizophrenia.

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Two weeks after the surgery, participants began taking clozapine without discontinuing their previous antiepileptic treatment. According to the researchers’ design, the drug activates the artificial receptor and suppresses pathological electrical discharges that cause seizures.

Observation results

In the first patient, the average number of seizures per month decreased from 4.5 to 0.5; in the second, from four to zero; and in the third, from 4.5 to 0.5. The first participant was observed for 12 months, while the other two were observed for eight months. No further seizures were recorded in the first two patients.

The third participant had two seizures after an unplanned interruption in taking clozapine. After treatment was resumed, the seizures were again controlled. All adverse events among the study participants were mild or moderate. The results were published in a letter in the New England Journal of Medicine; the authors emphasized that the method requires further study in larger trials.