How a stem cell transplant could help to stop epilepsy seizures trends now
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Aone-off 'injection' of stem cells could be an effective treatment for some patients with epilepsy.
The treatment is thought to help by increasing production of a brain chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which calms down the electrical activity in the area of the brain that triggers epileptic seizures.
The first two patients to have the therapy, called NRTX-1001, had a greater than 95 per cent reduction in their seizures a year after having the injection, according to preliminary findings presented at the meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Boston last year.
Now data presented at the American Academy of Neurology last month revealed that the treatment has been successful in two more patients.
More than 630,000 people in the UK have epilepsy and, as a result of sudden bursts of electrical activity in their brain, experience seizures.
Aone-off 'injection' of stem cells could be an effective treatment for some patients with epilepsy (Stock image)
Under general anaesthetic, a needle, guided by an MRI scanner, is positioned into the part of the brain causing the seizures and the cells are released into those with epilepsy and could help treat patients
Current treatments include medication to change the levels of chemicals in the brain that control
