K08 Award Supports New Childhood Epilepsy Research

Children’s Hospital Colorado neurosurgeon Allyson Alexander, MD, PhD, earned new funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to further childhood epilepsy research. The five-year K08 award will support her study, “Getting Excited About Cortical Malformations: Discovering the Mechanisms Leading to Seizure-Prone Neurons in Malformations of Cortical Development.”

Childhood epilepsy is a common and often devastating disease, and chronic seizures lead to a significant increase in developmental delay, psychological problems such as depression and anxiety, as well as an increased risk of premature death. A substantial proportion of children with Malformations of Cortical Development (MCDs) develop seizures that are untreatable by either medication or surgery. Many MCDs are caused by genetic changes in the mTOR pathway, which regulates cellular growth and metabolism. Brain cells communicate with each other via tiny cables called axons, and the mTOR pathway is known to affect axon growth. Dr. Alexander’s research will determine whether abnormal axonal overgrowth is a key mechanism by which mTOR upregulation leads to the development of treatment-resistant epilepsy in children with MCDs. She and her team will also explore whether targeting axonal overgrowth offers a potential therapy for these seizures.  She hopes to provide further biological understanding of MCD and an avenue for future successful therapies for children with these disorders.