Pharmacotherapeutic targeting of cation-chloride cotransporters in neonatal seizures.

ABSTRACT: Seizures are a common manifestation of acute neurologic insults in neonates and are often resistant to the standard antiepileptic drugs that are efficacious in children and adults. The paucity of evidence-based treatment guidelines, coupled with a rudimentary understanding of disease pathogenesis, has made the current treatment of neonatal seizures empiric and often ineffective, highlighting the need for novel therapies. Key developmental differences in γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurotransmission between the immature and mature brain, and trauma-induced alterations in the function of the cation-chloride cotransporters (CCCs) NKCC1 and KCC2, probably contribute to the poor efficacy of standard antiepileptic drugs used in the treatment of neonatal seizures. Although CCCs are attractive

SUBMITTER: Puskarjov M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4284054 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature