Epilepsy is a relatively common neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. Seizures occur due to abnormal electrical activity in the brain, leading to temporary disruption of normal brain function.
It affects individuals of all ages all around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), epilepsy affects approximately 50 million people globally, and an estimated 5 million people are diagnosed with epilepsy each year.
Stem cell therapy holds promise as an innovative treatment approach for epilepsy.
In the initial phases of a trial, an experimental stem cell therapy administered through a brain injection has resulted in a remarkable reduction of seizure frequency, nearing 95%, in the first two patients with epilepsy.
The regenerative neural cell therapy called NRTX-1001 has been developed by San Francisco-based biotech company Neurona Therapeutics.
This innovative therapy involves injecting lab-grown neurons derived from human pluripotent stem cells into the epileptic region of the brain. The single-dose treatment aims to silence seizure activity in patients with epilepsy.
Both patients in the trial had a history of frequent seizures that were not effectively managed by anti-seizure medications. However, after receiving the NRTX-1001 treatment, they demonstrated improvement in memory as observed through neuropsychological testing.
