Ricerc@Sapienza

Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases, and its pharmacological treatment holds great importance for both physicians and national authorities, especially considering the high proportion of drug-resistant patients (about 30%). Lacosamide (LCM) is an effective and well-tolerated new-generation antiepileptic drug (AED), currently licensed as add-on therapy for partial-onset seizures. However, LCM mechanism of action is still a matter of debate, although its effect on the voltage sensitive sodium channels is by far the most recognized.

The investigation on neurotransmission function during normal and pathologic development is a pivotal component needed to understand the basic mechanisms underlying neurodevelopmental pathologies. To study these diseases, many animal models have been generated which allowed to face the limited availability of human tissues and, as a consequence, most of the electrophysiology has been performed on these models of diseases.