title: Hyperphosphorylated tau is implicated in acquired epilepsy and neuropsychiatric comorbidities.
abstract: Epilepsy is a common group of neurological diseases. Acquired epilepsy can be caused by brain insults, such as trauma, infection or tumour, and followed by a latent period from several months to years before the emergence of recurrent spontaneous seizures. More than 50% of epilepsy cases will develop chronic neurodegenerative, neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. It is important to understand the mechanisms by which a brain insult results in acquired epilepsy and comorbidities in order to identify targets for novel therapeutic interventions that may mitigate these outcomes. Recent studies have implicated the hyperphosphorylated tubulin-associated protein (tau) in rodent models of epilepsy and Alzheimer's disease, and in experimental and clinical studies of traumatic brain injury. This potentially represents a novel target to mitigate epilepsy and associated neurocognitive and psychiatric disorders post-brain injury. This article reviews the potential role of tau-based mechanisms in the pathophysiology of acquired epilepsy and its neurocognitive and neuropsychiatric comorbidities, and the potential to target these for novel disease-modifying treatments.
authors: Department of Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, 4th Floor, Clinical Science Building, Melbourne, Victoria, 3050, Australia, zhp@student.unimelb.edu.au.
authors: Ping
authors: P
authors: Zheng
authors: Sandy R
authors: SR
authors: Shultz
authors: Chris M
authors: CM
authors: Hovens
authors: Dennis
authors: D
authors: Velakoulis
authors: Nigel C
authors: NC
authors: Jones
authors: Terence J
authors: TJ
authors: O'Brien
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015897:Comorbidity; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000502:physiology; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016875:tau Proteins