Dij ey Loeb
leads a groundbreaking study
of epilepsy and the brain
A $1.6 million grant from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) will help Dr. Jeffrey
Loeb, associate professor of neurology, study
abnormal epileptic brain activities present in
patients with recurrent seizures.
Loeb, a member of the Wayne State
University/DMC Comprehensive Epilepsy
Program and associate director of the Center
for Molecular Medicine and Genetics in
WSU's School of Medicine, says patients who
do not respond to medicines often benefit
from the surgical removal of brain regions
that produce seizures.
"Our research program has taken an entirely
novel approach to understand what is
different about human brain regions that
display abnormal epileptic brain activities,"
Loeb said. "This is an extraordinary
opportunity to learn not only about epilepsy,
but also how the human brain works
normally. This project is made possible by
the generosity of our patients who have
consented to donate their removed brain
tissues for our studies."
Though the removal of brain tissue has been
used to cure epilepsy for decades, Loeb's lab
is the first in the world to study the tissue
in relation to a particular abnormal activity
called "interictal spiking" — the minor,
more frequent electrical discharges in the
brain that occur between seizures. Though
they're not fully understood, research
suggests interictal spikes are closely related
to epileptic seizures in the brain. Loeb's
research program has identified many new
genes from human epileptic brain tissues
and shown that the amount of these gene
activations in epileptic parts of a patient's
brain directly correlates with the amount of
interictal spiking.
"It is amazing that these tiny discharges
actually have more influence over the genes
associated with epilepsy than seizures do,"
Loeb said. "Up until now, they've been a bit
of a mystery and under-appreciated. What
they're doing, nobody really knows, but
there's no piece
of brain tissue
that has seizures
that doesn't
have interictal
spiking."
NIH funds will
be used to
take a detailed
inventory of a
patient's interictal
spikes, including
frequency,
amplitude, and
correlation with
the genes that
underlie these
activities. Using
this information,
the spikes will
be mapped
onto a three-
dimensional
rendering of
Dr. Jeffrey Loeb and MD/PhD student Daniel Barkmeir in
the human
Loeb's lab. Barkmeir was recently awarded a $20,000 pre-doctoral
brain and used
fellowship from the Epilepsy Foundation of America for his work
to investigate
with animal models that simulate epileptic events in the brain.
the relationship
between interictal
spikes and seizures, as well as the reasons for
"Once interictal spikes are better
why the spikes sometimes spread to other
understood, we plan to develop new
parts of the brain.
treatments that for the first time could
prevent epilepsy from ever occurring after
In addition to learning valuable information
any injury to the brain," Loeb said. "Right
on interictal spikes, Loeb also expects to gain
now there are no treatments to prevent
a better understanding of the effects of brain
epilepsy. If you hit your head, wouldn't it
tissue removal, which could improve surgical
be nice to take a morning-after pill and
procedures for those with epilepsy.
never get this debilitating and often lifelong
disease?"
Epilepsy is one of the most frequently
diagnosed neurological disorders, affecting
In addition to Loeb, Wayne State
approximately one percent of the world's
collaborators include Drs. Aashit Shah
population. Though rare cases are
and Darren Fuerst of the Department
hereditary, the majority of patients develop
of Neurology and Dr. Jing Hua from the
the disease from stroke, tumor or some
Department of Computer Science. Dr.
head impact where the brain is injured. If
Rajeev Agarwal from Concordia University in
the patient is going to develop epilepsy, it
Montreal is also a part of this international
usually takes six months to a year for seizures
multidisciplinary team.
to start.
December 5 – 7, 12 – 14, 2008
Adaption by Lloyd Garrison and Roger Robb
February 20 – 22, 27 – 29, 2009
By Ntozake Shange
George Bailey has sacrificed his big dreams for the good
of his town his entire life. But this Christmas Eve he is
broken and suicidal over a misplaced $8,000 loan and
the plotting of an evil millionaire. His guardian angel
falls to earth and shows him how his town, family, and
friends would turn out if he had never been born. Come
and enjoy this holiday classic
This adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's classic piece is staged
during the Civil War and its aftermath. Shange's version
follows Mother Courage for more than 10 years as one
by one her children — Enoch, Smoked Cheese and Katie
— are taken away by the vicious war. Mother Courage
seeks to profit from the war that is killing her children,
she questions the meaning of honesty, virtue and family.
BONSTELLE
TH EATRE
2008 — 2009 Season
http://www.theatre.wayne.edu/
bonstelle.php