Encapsulated Cell Therapy for The Treatment of Epilepsy

Contemporary antiepileptic drugs are ineffective in approximately 30% of the patients. These patients continue to experience seizures and, in many cases, seizures increase in frequency and are associated with significant cognitive decline and psychiatric disorders. The delivery of trophic factors such as glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) to the CNS has tremendous potential for treating a range of diseases including epilepsy. We have recently tested a clinically-validated, implantable cell encapsulation system (EC) that delivers high levels of GDNF in a selective, long-term and stable manner to the epileptogenic area of pilocarpine treated rats. As such, this therapeutic technology platform combines the potency of de novo in situ synthesis of cell-derived GDNF with the safety of an implantable, biocompatible, and retrievable medical device. The de novo synthetized source of very high levels of GDNF in the brain region of interest proved able to significantly reduce generalized seizures frequency, improved cognitive performance and normalized anatomical alterations associated with chronic epilepsy.