tuberous sclerosis complex

David GutmannJust as films or plays feature both stars and a supporting cast, in the brain the cells called neurons have “starring roles.” But a team of epilepsy researchers led by David H. Gutmann, M.D., Ph.D., the Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, has found that a type of supporting cell in the brain is responsible for some epileptic seizures. Studying mice that develop a genetic disorder called tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), which affects about 50,000 Americans and causes debilitating epileptic seizures in half of them, Gutmann’s team found that cells called astrocytes played a critical role in the development of seizures. The researchers found that mice that lack a particular gene developed seizures, and they say that gene, combined with the knowledge that the “supporting” astrocyte cells are responsible for the seizures, provides new targets for treating epilepsy.