Researchers in the making:
The origins of epilepsy
Dr. Aylin Reid studies the mechanisms of epilepsy to determine how seizures are formed in the brain.
Story by Jonathan Davies/Photos by Trudie Lee
Dr. Aylin Reid has been interested in understanding epilepsy since watching a friend cope with the condition when she was an undergraduate student. During her neurology residency, she realized there were still many unanswered questions. To help answer those questions, she took a break from her medical residency to enter the lab where she studied how epileptic seizures are triggered in the brain.
Dr. Reid recalls her first experience with epilepsy happened at Dalhousie University: her friend, who was newly diagnosed with the condition, began to shy away from social activities. "It was sad to see how much it controlled his life," she says. Now a neurology resident at the University of Calgary, she knows that epilepsy and the stigma associated with the condition didn't have to limit her friend's life.
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by excessive, unregulated electrical activity in the brain. This brain activity results in convulsions and can cause changes in mental state or consciousness in the sufferer. Certain genetic conditions and injury, such as trauma and stroke, are known to cause epilepsy. However, in most cases, what causes epilepsy and what triggers seizures are a mystery. There's evidence that prolonged or repeated febrile seizures can lead to the development of epilepsy. Febrile seizures are convulsions caused by common childhood fevers that typically affect toddlers and children. "I see a lot of adult epileptic patients who also had a febrile seizure when they were young, and I have also seen children whose first experience with epilepsy is with a febrile seizure," says Dr. Reid. "Every time I meet a patient who has experienced this potential trigger for epilepsy, I can't help but think, 'could this have been prevented?'"
After completing the first three years of her residency, Dr. Reid began exploring these clinical questions in the lab. In 2007, she started her Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Quentin Pittman and Dr. Cam Teskey; she investigated how prolonged febrile seizures could cause changes to the brain that increased its susceptibility to subsequent seizures. She was especially interested in a protein called NKCC1 that helps control the excitability of the brain's neurons (nerve cells) by transporting sodium, potassium, and chloride in and out of the cells. Dr. Reid identified changes in how NKCC1 behaves in neurons after a febrile seizure. Following a febrile seizure, certain neurons express more NKCC1, making these cells excitable and more likely to trigger subsequent seizures.
Last year, Dr. Reid received her Ph.D. and became the first student to graduate from the University of Calgary's new Clinician Investigator Program, which provides support for medical residents wishing to pursue a career in clinical research. Finishing the program in three years is an achievement that she's extremely proud of. Dr. Reid is currently completing her final two years of residency but is already looking forward to getting back into the lab as a clinician-scientist. A clinician-scientist is someone who practices medicine and also conducts research. "I could not think of a more satisfying career than studying epilepsy in the lab and applying my research to patients in the clinic," says Dr. Reid. She hopes that combining her clinical knowledge with basic research will give her greater insights into the mechanisms of epilepsy and, possibly, highlight potential treatments. "If we can understand how seizures develop in the brain, we might one day be able to prevent epilepsy from developing."