MARKERS OF NEUROINFLAMMATION AND APOPTOSIS IN THE TEMPORAL LOBE OF PATIENTS WITH DRUG-RESISTANT EPILEPSY
Modern antiepileptic strategies aim to normalize the interaction of the excitatory and inhibitory systems, which turns out to be ineffective in treating patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. Neuroinflammatory processes in the epileptic focus and in its perifocal area can trigger apoptosis and also contribute to the development of drug resistance. The level of pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins (p-NF-kB, TNF-α, p53, FAS, caspase-3, caspase-9) was analyzed in intraoperative biopsies of the temporal lobe gray and white matter in the brain of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. An increased level of pro-apoptotic proteins was revealed in the cortex and perifocal area white matter against the background of an imbalance of protective anti-apoptotic proteins. It appears that the activation of the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis occurs in the perifocal area, while in the epileptic focus, there are proteins responsible for the activation of the anti-apoptotic survival pathways. Active neuroinflammation in the epileptic focus and perifocal zone of the temporal lobe may contribute to the development of the resistance to anticonvulsant drugs and the progression of neurodegeneration in such patients.