Does epileptic tissue age faster than the patient?

Epigenetic age is measured in resected brain tissue and in blood across different aetiologies, and against the time of seizure onset in specific etiocopy animal models together with the groups of Premysl Jiruska in Prague, Cristina Reschke in Dublin, and Pablo Casillas-Espinosa in Melbourne. If acceleration precedes the first seizure, ageing is part of the process rather than a consequence of it.

Paraskevi Chasani, Mitali Katoch, Katja Kobow · Convergence

Do anti-seizure medications alter brain development beyond the exposed generation?

Methylation and brain development are compared across generations after exposure to valproic acid, with the group of Christophe Bernard, Marseille. If effects persist into an unexposed generation, an epigenetic state is inherited rather than acquired.

Paraskevi Chasani · IReSP ·

Does matrix stiffness set the threshold for neuronal synchronisation?

Neuronal activity is measured against defined mechanical and compositional properties of the surrounding extracellular matrix. If stiffness sets the threshold, a mechanical property becomes a candidate parameter of the tissue state.

Kristina Karandasheva · SFB 1540 Exploring Brain Mechanics ·

We are using primary neuronal cell cultures, iPSC-derived neurons, slice cultures and in vivo models.

Why do mammals scar where zebrafish regenerate?

The abundance of small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRPs) in mammalian CNS lesions and their absence in zebrafish is studied in collaboration with the group of Daniel Wehner, Cologne. If these proteins account for differences in a species’ regenerative capacity, matrix composition is a controllable determinant of what tissue permits.

Katja Kobow · SFB 1540 Exploring Brain Mechanics · Convergence

Does epileptic tissue lose its temporal organisation?

The molecular and cellular basis of circadian rhythmicity is examined in epileptic tissue, with the ChronoEpilepsy Lab of Cristina R. Reschke. If rhythmicity is degraded, the timing of measurement stops being a nuisance variable and becomes part of the readout.

Hendrik Zimmermann · IZKF ·

Does MOGHE have a functional signature that is independent of its genomic cause?

Repetitive clusters of low-voltage fast activity in intracranial recordings are compared between MOGHE and other lesions, with blinded independent validation. If the pattern marks MOGHE across genomic routes, the shared output is electrophysiological and not only molecular.

Katja Kobow · Convergence

Can DNA methylation name the lesion and predict the benefit of surgery?

Methylation profiles from resected brain tissue and from peripheral blood are tested against the histological diagnosis and against seizure outcome after surgery. If one profile answers both, the same measurement classifies the lesion and informs the decision to operate or stratifies the patient for a mechanistically informed treatment.

Mitali Katoch · Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung · Convergence