Preventing Seizures After Head Injury Could Slow or Prevent the Onset of Dementia

New research by University of Alberta biologists published in eLife found that preventing seizures after a head injury could slow or deter the onset of dementia, reports News-Medical . Since seizures are a common occurrence among patients who have suffered these injuries, neurologists often prescribe anti-epileptic treatments to prevent them. "Our data suggest that, at least in animal models, blocking these seizures . . . could have a benefit later in life by slowing or preventing the onset of dementia," said Alberta's Hadeel Alyenbaawi. "A prophylactic treatment to prevent dementia is an exciting possibility, though there is much work to be done to develop our concept. We are excited to see that our research and the tools we developed resolved some of the mystery around the link between traumatic brain injury and dementia."