Mice with a genetic mutation that’s been observed in patients with epileptic encephalopathy, a severe form of congenital epilepsy, exhibit not only the seizure, developmental and behavioral symptoms of the disorder, but also neural degeneration and inflammation in the brain, University of Illinois...

Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are hopeful their findings on the gating mechanisms behind epilepsy-associated potassium channels could provide a foundation for new therapeutic strategies for treating epilepsy, especially in young patients. Their research was recently...

Biochemistry researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are conducting trailblazing work on a group of conserved proteins that are directly related to abnormal cell proliferation and developmental and neurological disorders. In a new article published in Cell Reports, biochemistry...

For the past few decades, scientists have observed a trend of increased height and younger age of puberty onset in humans. Now, research outlining a new pathway in humans linking body fat to puberty onset and growth could provide an explanation as to why these changes are occurring. Their findings...

The Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology in the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology is pleased to welcome new faculty member Patrick Sweeney!

Researchers report that infantile spasms, a rare but serious seizure disorder in babies, appear to be the result of a molecular pathway gone awry. In their study of a mouse model of the disorder, the researchers discovered that genetic mutations associated with the disease impair a pathway that is...

Professor Yu was one of ten new faculty hires made in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the last three years. Yu is an assistant professor of molecular and integrative physiology and is an affiliate of the Beckman Institute.

Recent clinical trials involving Fragile X Syndrome (FXS), a genetic disorder that causes mild to severe intellectual disability, indicate that potential drug treatments are not as effective as researchers initially hoped. This lack of therapeutic potential suggests there are some gaps in our...

Dr. Tsai’s lab focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal excitability imbalance in neurological and psychiatric disorders including epilepsy and autism.

Recent research from Professor Catherine Christian-Hinman in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology has identified an animal model capable of modeling some aspects of catamenial epilepsy without hormone treatments, creating exciting possibilities in the field for advancement in...