Introduction to Drug Discovery for Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a brain disorder of multiple causes and multiple symptoms. Despite affecting 1% of the global population (79 million people in 2022), it is understudied and poorly known, compared to much rarer diseases. Epilepsy has languished for want of new drugs; many of the drugs used today were discovered decades ago. For example, sodium valproate, a drug with multiple side effects, still continues to be in use in many countries, more than six decades after its discovery. One of the most significant treatments for epilepsy still remains food, especially through diets like the keto diet.

A biomolecular mechanism for epilepsy has eluded science, making the search for a druggable target even more difficult. This means that treatment for epilepsy has still focused on preventing or arresting symptoms like convulsions, rather than eliminating (or minimizing) the root cause. Even more unfortunately, the inability to accurately predict the onset of seizures implies that treatment can begin only after the onset of a seizure, by which time, often considerable damage has been done. Indeed, the association of epilepsy with other brain degenerative disorders is high.

The drug discovery chapters in this book have been contributed by my colleague Raamesh Gowri Raghavan, while the chapters on epilepsy and its current treatment have been contributed by Dr. Marin Zhelezov, Dr. Ivaylo Dimitrov and Mr. Mihail Yordanov, a brilliant team of doctors. This book aims to prepare the reader in the basics of both drug discovery and epilepsy, so that they may fully grasp the challenges in finding a safe and effective cure for the disorder. This is Ioncure's current mission, accompanied by an effort to promote greater awareness of this disorder that is silently poisoning the lives of millions of people worldwide.