Dual mechanism of Anti-Seizure Medications in controlling seizure activity

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Besne, Guillermo M., Molefi, Emmanuel, Gascoigne, Sarah J., Evans, Nathan, Smith, Billy, Thornton, Chris, Chowdhury, Fahmida A., Diehl, Beate, Duncan, John S., McEvoy, Andrew W., Miserocchi, Anna, de Tisi, Jane, Walker, Matthew, Taylor, Peter N., Wang, Yujiang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Besne, Guillermo M.
Molefi, Emmanuel
Gascoigne, Sarah J.
Evans, Nathan
Smith, Billy
Thornton, Chris
Chowdhury, Fahmida A.
Diehl, Beate
Duncan, John S.
McEvoy, Andrew W.
Miserocchi, Anna
de Tisi, Jane
Walker, Matthew
Taylor, Peter N.
Wang, Yujiang
author_facet Besne, Guillermo M.
Molefi, Emmanuel
Gascoigne, Sarah J.
Evans, Nathan
Smith, Billy
Thornton, Chris
Chowdhury, Fahmida A.
Diehl, Beate
Duncan, John S.
McEvoy, Andrew W.
Miserocchi, Anna
de Tisi, Jane
Walker, Matthew
Taylor, Peter N.
Wang, Yujiang
contents Background: Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) can reduce seizure duration, but their precise modes of action are unclear. Specifically, it is unknown whether ASMs shorten seizures by simply compressing existing seizure activity into a shorter time frame or by selectively suppressing certain seizure activity patterns. Methods: We analysed intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings of 457 seizures from 28 people with epilepsy undergoing ASM tapering. Beyond measuring seizure occurrence and duration, we categorized distinct seizure activity patterns (states) based on spatial and frequency power characteristics and related these to different ASM levels. Results: We found that reducing ASM levels led to increased seizure frequency (r = 0.87, p < 0.001) and longer seizure duration ($β$ = -0.033, p < 0.001), consistent with prior research. Further analysis revealed two distinct mechanisms in which seizures became prolonged: Emergence of new seizure patterns - In approx. 40% of patients, ASM tapering unmasked additional seizure activity states, and seizures containing these 'taper-emergent states' were substantially longer (r = 0.49, p < 0.001). Prolongation of existing seizure patterns - Even in seizures without taper-emergent states, lower ASM levels still resulted in approx. 12-224% longer durations depending on the ASM dosage and tapering ($β$ = -0.049, p < 0.001). Conclusion: ASMs influence seizures through two mechanisms: they (i) suppress specific seizure activity patterns (states) in an all-or-nothing fashion and (ii) curtail the duration of other seizure patterns. These findings highlight the complex role of ASMs in seizure modulation and could inform personalized dosing strategies for epilepsy management. These findings may also have implications in understanding the effects of ASMs on cognition and mood.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_01887
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dual mechanism of Anti-Seizure Medications in controlling seizure activity
Besne, Guillermo M.
Molefi, Emmanuel
Gascoigne, Sarah J.
Evans, Nathan
Smith, Billy
Thornton, Chris
Chowdhury, Fahmida A.
Diehl, Beate
Duncan, John S.
McEvoy, Andrew W.
Miserocchi, Anna
de Tisi, Jane
Walker, Matthew
Taylor, Peter N.
Wang, Yujiang
Neurons and Cognition
Background: Anti-seizure medications (ASMs) can reduce seizure duration, but their precise modes of action are unclear. Specifically, it is unknown whether ASMs shorten seizures by simply compressing existing seizure activity into a shorter time frame or by selectively suppressing certain seizure activity patterns. Methods: We analysed intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings of 457 seizures from 28 people with epilepsy undergoing ASM tapering. Beyond measuring seizure occurrence and duration, we categorized distinct seizure activity patterns (states) based on spatial and frequency power characteristics and related these to different ASM levels. Results: We found that reducing ASM levels led to increased seizure frequency (r = 0.87, p < 0.001) and longer seizure duration ($β$ = -0.033, p < 0.001), consistent with prior research. Further analysis revealed two distinct mechanisms in which seizures became prolonged: Emergence of new seizure patterns - In approx. 40% of patients, ASM tapering unmasked additional seizure activity states, and seizures containing these 'taper-emergent states' were substantially longer (r = 0.49, p < 0.001). Prolongation of existing seizure patterns - Even in seizures without taper-emergent states, lower ASM levels still resulted in approx. 12-224% longer durations depending on the ASM dosage and tapering ($β$ = -0.049, p < 0.001). Conclusion: ASMs influence seizures through two mechanisms: they (i) suppress specific seizure activity patterns (states) in an all-or-nothing fashion and (ii) curtail the duration of other seizure patterns. These findings highlight the complex role of ASMs in seizure modulation and could inform personalized dosing strategies for epilepsy management. These findings may also have implications in understanding the effects of ASMs on cognition and mood.
title Dual mechanism of Anti-Seizure Medications in controlling seizure activity
topic Neurons and Cognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.01887