1. Spectrum of hyperexcitability of the brain: migraine and pain sensitivity in epilepsy.
- Author
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Velioğlu, Sibel K.
- Subjects
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EPILEPSY , *EPILEPSY in animals , *PAIN threshold , *MIGRAINE , *MIGRAINE aura , *LABORATORY animals , *COMORBIDITY , *ANIMAL models in research - Abstract
The process that provoke spontaneous seizures that characterizes epilepsy is related to a decrease in the threshold of excitability of neurons. The pathophysiological mechanisms that drive neurons to generate abnormal excessive electrical discharges are still not clearly understood. These neurons, which are silent/calm in the interictal period, are different from normal neurons in many aspects. The conditions that are commonly comorbid with epilepsies, are headaches and painful syndromes. Scientific research on this comorbidity is only limited to clinical studies and has not yet reached results that will clarify the neurobiology of the association. Implementing animal models that have both the disease and the comorbidity and preclinical studies to be performed on them are difficult as methodology, and there is no such study yet. In recent years, two preclinical studies we conducted in experimental animals with genetic epilepsy showed that the pain threshold is reduced in genetic absence epilepsy. Future studies on pain comorbidity in epilepsy will shed a light on the neurobiology of both epilepsy and pain. In this presentation, the neurobiology of epilepsy will be discussed in terms of comorbidity of epilepsy-migraine, and the pain threshold studies in rats with genetic absence epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2020