Big Science Small Pod

What makes seizures start?

Not all cases of epilepsy are the same. Some people suffer a few seizures, begin taking one of 30 or more epilepsy medications available, and live a typical life. But for about a half million U.S. children with treatment-resistant disease, it’s far worse. Their seizures keep coming, making them more likely to die young. They’re at greater risk for learning problems, social and emotional difficulties, and social isolation. Many of these epilepsies are caused by genetic mutations. Matthew Weston, a neuroscientist at Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, leads a team working to identify them. In the latest episode of Big Science Small Pod, Weston explains what happens in the brain during seizures and how his lab is researching their genetic roots to help develop new treatments for children.

Weston is an associate professor at Virginia Tech's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC in Roanoke. His lab investigates the balance between inhibition and excitation in the brain, and how genetic variations can affect that balance in ways that lead to childhood eplilepsies.