Background:
- The brain is protected by a barrier that keeps toxins in the blood from reaching the
brain. However, this barrier can also keep useful medications from reaching the brain.
P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a brain protein that is part of the blood-brain barrier. The
level of P-gp is higher in people with epilepsy than in people without epilepsy. These
different levels of P-gp may explain why some people have seizures that do not respond
well to medications. Researchers want to see if P-gp can affect the response to epilepsy
medications.
- Epilepsy may also be associated with brain inflammation. Researchers also want to look
at the part of the brain affected by epilepsy to see if inflammation is present.
Objectives:
- To see if P-gp can affect the response to epilepsy medications.
- To see if inflammation is present in the part of the brain affected by epilepsy.
Eligibility:
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Cohort
There is one SNP
This polymorphism is due to the non-conservative amino-acid substitution at position 147 from alanine to threonine (Ala147Thr) in the fifth transmembrane domain of the TSPO protein. --- Ala147Thr ---