An animal model of West syndrome exhibits a progressive increase in epileptic spasms and learning and memory deficits — ScienceDaily

West syndrome, the most prevalent type of syndromic epileptic encephalopathy affecting infants, is a devastating and often fatal condition. It is characterized by a triad of symptoms — seizures/spasms, a signature brain activity between seizure events, and intellectual disabilities. Researchers in the laboratory of Dr. John Swann, professor at Baylor College of Medicine and investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, have provided the first demonstration of a progressive increase in epileptic spasms along with learning and memory deficits in an animal model of this disorder. In addition, the study published in Epilepsia, establishes this as an ‘ideal’ model to identify the underlying molecular mechanisms and to discover targeted therapies for this condition.

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