The invention relates to use of ifenprodil for the treatment of chronic or recurrent seizures that are a symptom of i.a. temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), including, in particular, drug-resistant TLE.

Approximately 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy. In approximately 40% of patients, temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is resistant to currently available pharmacotherapies. An important factor in the pathogenesis of the disease is the small subpopulation of the receptor for N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDAR), which activation may play a role in initiating the development of temporal lobe epilepsy. The inventors have shown that Ifenprodil, a selective NMDAR inhibitor, inhibits chronic seizures in a mouse model of TLE. The repurposing approach may allow using ifenprodil, a marketed vasodilator, to treat TLE, including drug-resistant forms of the disease. It may also be used to prevent epileptogenesis, which may occur e.g. after brain injury.

Nencki Institute is the sole applicant.

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