This paper was interesting because one doesn't see too many reports focused on adult Dravet patients. It has been found that Parkinsonism is a motor condition that often develops in adults with Dravet syndrome. However, it is not well understood how Dravet syndrome, in particular dysfunction of the NaV1.1 sodium channel, is connected to [...]

As seen in many of these research summaries, models that reliably mimic human Dravet syndrome, such as engineered mice and zebrafish, allow labs to try out various potential drugs in a quick and safe manner. In this study, the researchers used a Dravet mouse model to test the efficacy of donepezil (a.k.a. "Aricept"), an [...]

This article is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it describes the use of zebrafish as a model for Dravet syndrome. Zebrafish have become very useful in medical research. They are small, and easy and inexpensive to maintain and employ in drug response studies, especially in comparison to mice. Of course, although they [...]

Dravet syndrome is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the SCN1A gene, which codes for the alpha subunit of the NaV1.1 sodium channel. However, there are other sodium channels, and it is known that gain-of-function mutations in SCN8A, the gene that codes for the alpha subunit of the NaV1.6 sodium channel, can lead to severe [...]

This was a retrospective study, gathering information on Dravet patients who, over the last nine years, had followed a strict ketogenic diet for at least 12 weeks. In total, there were 60 children identified. The duration of their ketogenic diets ranged from 12 weeks to 54 months, with a median duration of 44 weeks. [...]

Many of the drugs used to treat Dravet Syndrome work by interacting with GABAA receptors.  Each GABAA receptor is composed of subunits, and there are different versions of receptors depending on which subunits they have. Drugs have unwanted side-effects, and it is worth asking: if we hit just one specific kind of GABAA receptor, [...]