The autosomal dominant nature of the mutation, together with the characteristics of these epilepsies, which are nocturnal and have a frontal lobe origin, lead to the nomenclature of this syndrome as “autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy” or ADNFLE. Importantly, all mutations identified so far yield a gain of function of the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. This suggests that inhibition Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of these receptors is expected to reduce the severity of the symptoms. Indeed, epilepsies can be controlled by low concentrations of the antiepileptic drug carbamazepine (CBZ)

in many patients. In some families this treatment remains, however, inefficacious. Studies of control and mutated nicotinic acetylcholine receptors corresponding to these different families revealed in most cases a high sensitivity to CBZ, which inhibits the α4α2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, whereas for Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical other mutations sensitivity to CBZ was reduced.54-56

A more detailed examination of the patient conditions in different families presenting ADNFLE Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical revealed that some mutations are also associated with significant cognitive impairments.53 Labeling studies performed in monkey and rat brain have revealed significant differences in the level of expression of specific subunits. For example it was shown that the α2 subunit

is largely expressed in the prefrontal cortex of the monkey brain, whereas its level of expression is much lower in the rat.57 The discovery of a mutation Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical in the CHRNA2, the gene encoding for the α2 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, and its association with one form Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of genetically transmissible epilepsy opened a new chapter in our understanding of the link between the cholinergic system and neurological diseases.58,59 These data are in good agreement with the hypothesis of the crucial role played by the cholinergic system in cognitive functions. A progressive decline in cholinergic tone has been proposed to correlate with the cognitive impairments observed in patients with Alzheimer disease. To compensate for the loss of cholinergic tone, cholinesterase inhibitors has been introduced in clinical practice Entinostat and, more recently, nicotinic agonists have been studied in clinical trials. These clinical trials represent the first step toward the design of selleckchem Trichostatin A additional studies aimed at further reducing or compensating for the effects of low acetylcholine levels in the brain. Conclusions Natural alkaloids, such as nicotine, can have multiple effects on our body, and these have been recognized since the earliest times.