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IEC 2021 | Gene therapy for pharmacoresistant epilepsy: principles, opportunities & difficulties

Simona Balestrini, MD, PhD, University College London, London, UK, talks on the promise of gene therapy in epilepsy. Gene therapy is a term covering various treatments, including the introduction of new genetic material as well as genome or transcriptome modification. Though promising results have been shown in animal models, there are many difficulties in its clinical application. Dr Balestrini describes a clinical trial that may soon be carried out in humans, where patients with drug-resistant epilepsy will be randomized to either receive surgical intervention or a viral vector used to manipulate their DNA. This trial would examine the potential of gene therapy in epileptic patients. She concludes by saying the field is developing very rapidly and that she hopes that it will be the way forward in curing epilepsy. This interview took place during the 34th International Epilepsy Congress, 2021.