Track: 1. Basic Mechanisms / 1D. Mechanisms of Therapeutic Interventions
Melissa Barker-Haliski
Research Assistant Professor
University of Washington
Our present mechanistic and behavioral studies suggest that LEV acts preferentially at synapses that only express SV2A. The in vivo efficacy of LEV was most notable in BKO mice, and this efficacy was preserved in a dose-related manner against the drug-resistant 6 Hz 44 mA seizure. LEV may preferentially act at synapses critical to evoked focal, but not generalized, seizures. Future studies must define whether the selective action of LEV in discrete neuronal subpopulations is necessary and sufficient for LEV anticonvulsant efficacy.