Topic: Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg

Absence seizures (ASs) are generalized non-convulsive seizures characterized by sudden, brief lapses in consciousness, accompanied by spike-and-wave discharges in EEG. In children with Childhood Absence Epilepsy, 30% are pharmaco-resistant and 60% exhibit neuropsychiatric deficits, that precede the epilepsy diagnosis and persist even after seizure control with medication. Thus, there is the need to fully understand and control both ASs and their comorbidities.Increased thalamic GABA levels have been observed in children with unilateral spike-and-wave discharges and drugs that elevate GABA can

The lateral hypothalamus produces the neuropeptides orexin-A and -B, also referred to as hypocretin-1 and -2, which activate the OX1 and OX2 receptors. The orexin system is linked to various neurobiological processes and specifically plays a critical role in regulating the sleep-wake cycle. Epilepsy, as a frequent neurological disease, affects people of all ages. Given that epilepsy can impact sleep in multiple ways, the relationship between the orexinergic system and the pathophysiology of generalized epilepsies remains to be determined.We investigated the orexin-type 2 receptor (OX2R) in the