A class of drug that inhibits estrogen production and is used to
treat breast cancer has been found to quickly and effectively suppress
dangerous brain seizures, according to a new Northwestern University
study.
"The effect was profound and very clear," said Catherine S. Woolley, senior author of the study.
"This shows that clinically available drugs could be effective therapies for suppressing seizures in humans."
Woolley and postdoctoral fellow Satoru M. Sato also discovered, to
their surprise, that seizures stimulate the production of estrogens in
the brain of both males and females and that this plays a previously
unknown role in the escalation of seizure activity. Estrogen synthesis
during a seizure fuels the seizure, making it worse.
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