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Breaking Bad: the Structure and Function of the Blood-Brain Barrier in Epilepsy

  • Review Article
  • Theme: CNS Barriers in Health and Disease
  • Published:
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Abstract

Epilepsy is a neurological disease with variable etiology and clinical manifestation, affecting more than 50 million people worldwide. Although the ultimate precipitators of seizures are neurons, it is becoming evident that epileptic activity is associated with changes in the function of other cell types, including those consisting the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and regulating its permeability. The interrelationships between impaired BBB function and epilepsy are complex, as BBB dysfunction may both lead to seizures and be induced by epileptic activity. In this article, we review alterations in key BBB properties that have been found in patients with epilepsy and in animal models of the disease. We highlight emerging biomarkers for individualized treatment, implications for pharmacotherapy, and potential BBB-related targets for drug development.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the National Institute for Psychobiology in Israel. Sara Eyal is affiliated with the David R. Bloom Centre for Pharmacy and Dr. Adolf and Klara Brettler Centre for Research in Molecular Pharmacology and Therapeutics at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Drug Research, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University, Room 613, Ein Kerem, 91120, Jerusalem, Israel

    Hadas Han, Aniv Mann & Sara Eyal

  2. Department of Neurology, Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel

    Dana Ekstein

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  1. Hadas Han
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  2. Aniv Mann
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  3. Dana Ekstein
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  4. Sara Eyal
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Correspondence to Sara Eyal.

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Han, H., Mann, A., Ekstein, D. et al. Breaking Bad: the Structure and Function of the Blood-Brain Barrier in Epilepsy. AAPS J 19, 973–988 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12248-017-0096-2

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