PERIPHERAL AND CENTRAL IMMUNE BIOMARKERS OF DRUG RESISTANT EPILEPSY AND STATUS EPILEPTICUS

Epilepsy is a devastating neurological condition with approximately 36% of individuals experiencing medication resistant seizures. Status epilepticus is a severe manifestation of seizures with high mortality. Better treatments are required to reduce seizure frequency and severity. This thesis examined the role of inflammation in medication resistant epilepsy and status epilepticus. A variety of alterations in immunological markers in peripheral blood and epilepsy patient derived brain specimens were identified. This work advances our understanding of possible cellular and molecular immunological mechanisms of seizures. The knowledge gained is hoped to improve epilepsy diagnosis and treatment options.