Validation of a Preclinical Drug Screening Platform for Pharmacoresistant Epilepsy.

Validation of a Preclinical Drug Screening Platform for Pharmacoresistant Epilepsy. Neurochem Res. 2017 Mar 16;: Authors: Barker-Haliski ML, Johnson K, Billingsley P, Huff J, Handy LJ, Khaleel R, Lu Z, Mau MJ, Pruess TH, Rueda C, Saunders G, Underwood TK, Vanegas F, Smith MD, West PJ, Wilcox KS Abstract The successful identification of promising investigational therapies for the treatment of epilepsy can be credited to the use of numerous animal models of seizure and epilepsy for over 80 years. In this time, the maximal electroshock test in mice and rats, the subcutaneous pentylenetetrazol test in mice and rats, and more recently the 6 Hz assay in mice, have been utilized as primary models of electrically or chemically-evoked seizures in neurologically intact rodents. In addition, rodent kindling models, in which chronic network hyperexcitability has developed, have been used to identify new agents. It is clear that this traditional screening approach has greatly expanded the number of marketed drugs available to manage the symptomatic seizures associated with epilepsy. In spite of the numerous antiseizure drugs (ASDs) on the market today, the fact remains that nearly 30% of patients are resistant to these currently available medications. To address this unmet medical need, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP) revised its approach to the early evaluation of in...
Source: Neurochemical Research - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Neurochem Res Source Type: research