Background

Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide. Diagnosis still relies heavily on electroencephalography (EEG) and neuroimaging, which can be costly and are not ideal for routine or minimally invasive monitoring. The discovery of molecules in the blood could provide simple and cheap ways to support diagnosis.

Research

In this study, we measured levels of two short ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules that are generated during cell stress responses. We measured them in two different types of body fluid – the blood and the fluid surrounding the brain called CSF, using samples from a preclinical model of temporal lobe epilepsy as well as samples from epilepsy patients. We found that while both fluids showed differences in levels of these molecules, the levels in the brain fluid varied in a pattern that more closely tracked with epileptic brain activity.

Potential Impact

These findings suggest that when measuring chemical changes in body fluids, the closer we are to the brain itself the more reliable the signal for epilepsy. Collectively, these findings advance the field of molecular diagnostics towards more accessible and personalised approaches to epilepsy care.