Preventing epilepsy after head injury and finding early warning signs
Official title: Translational Platform for Epilepsy Therapy and Biomarker Discovery
Funded at Albert Einstein College of Medicine · NIH-11516948 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests a treatment that removes harmful iron from the brain and looks for early biological signs to stop epilepsy after a head injury.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Albert Einstein College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Bronx, United States) |
| Project start | April 15, 2022 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $312,762 |
| NIH project number | 3R01NS127524-05S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11516948 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The ideal future candidates would be people who recently had a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury and are at higher risk of developing seizures.
✕Less likely to help
People with genetic or long-standing epilepsy unrelated to recent brain injury are unlikely to benefit from this prevention-focused work.
What this research studies
Researchers use well-validated animal models of traumatic brain injury across several labs to see if a drug that clears excess iron from the brain lowers the chance of later epilepsy. The work is run as a randomized, blinded, vehicle-controlled preclinical trial following high standards for rigor and reproducibility. Teams will also search for protein and other biomarkers that appear early after injury and could signal which people are at risk. Pharmacokinetic experts and bioinformaticians will analyze drug levels and biomarker patterns to guide future human studies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to treatments to prevent epilepsy after traumatic brain injury and tests to identify who should get them.
How similar studies have gone: No validated treatments currently prevent acquired epilepsy in humans, so this approach builds on promising preclinical findings but remains unproven clinically.
Where this research is happening
-
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Bronx, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Galanopoulou, Aristea S — Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Galanopoulou, Aristea S
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.