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Previously thought to be mere connective tissue and support for neurons, astrocytes are now understood to have many functions in the nervous system that are linked with seizures and epilepsy. Dr. Cecilie Nome spoke with Dr. Peter Bedner about astrocytes' involvement in epilepsy and how identifying and resolving astrocyte dysfunction is a new frontier in drug development.

Relevant articles:
de Ceglia R., et al. 2023. Specialized astrocytes mediate glutamatergic gliotransmission in the CNS. Nature 622, 120–129.

Grote A., et al. 2023. ‘Hippocampal innate inflammatory gliosis only’ in pharmacoresistant temporal lobe epilepsy. Brain 146(2), 549-560.

Ravi V.M., et al. 2015. Astrocyte uncoupling as a cause of human temporal lobe epilepsy. 2015. Brain 138(5), 1208-1222.

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