Rare Epilepsies, Comorbidities, and Genetic Therapies: Danielle Andrade, MD, MSc, FRCPC

WATCH TIME: 5 minutes

“In patients with Dravet syndrome, the all cause mortality was 15.8 for 1000 persons a year and with fenfluramine, this number came down to 1.7. Same with SUDEP, the previous number was 9.3 per 1000 persons per year and with the group of patients treated with fenfluramine it went down to 1.7 per 1000 persons a year.”

Genetic therapies that reduce seizure frequency provide an alternative treatment option for patients with epilepsy with comorbidities who may need a more effective method besides antiseizure medications or surgery. Patients with Dravet syndrome (DS) and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are examples of conditions in which individuals may have several comorbidities such as kidney problems, heart problems, and skin problems, in addition to seizures.

At the 2022 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting, held December 2 to 6, in Nashville, Tennessee, Danielle Andrade, MD, MSc, FRCPC, participated in a symposium centered on epilepsy therapies. Her talk during the session focused on the types of genetic approaches to comorbidities in epilepsy. The rest of the symposium centered in on how genetic therapy may be applied for epilepsy treatment; however, more research is needed to understand the effectiveness of the approach.

In an interview with NeurologyLive^® at the meeting, Andrade, professor of neurology at the University of Toronto, spoke more in depth about the conditions that were mentioned in her talk during the symposium. Specifically, she talked about conditions like DS and TSC, and their role in research for genetic therapies that improve quality of life.

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REFERENCES
1. Andrade D. Genetic Approaches to Comorbidities. Presented at: AES Annual Meeting; December 2-6, 2022; Nashville, TN, and virtual. Epilepsy Therapies Symposium.