Intractable epilepsy is a condition referred to as seizures that pharmacological regimens cannot control. It is also called refractory, uncontrolled, or drug-resistant epileptic seizures. It greatly impacts a patient’s quality of life. About one in three epileptic patients develops intractable epilepsy. Intractable epilepsy is believed to be caused by somatic mutations that specifically occur in certain brain cells.
Unlike other organs, the human brain is blocked by the blood-brain barrier, which acts as a critical challenge in the diagnosis of epilepsy. Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology have developed a revolutionary method to non-surgically diagnose intractable epilepsy. The technique focuses on diagnosing somatic mutation genes in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of the patient. The researchers analyzed CSF from 12 patients and amplified the cell-free…
