Spider venom could soon be used to help people living with drug-resistant genetic epilepsies

Potentially-deadly spider venom could soon be saving the lives of Australians living with debilitating neurological conditions.

Brisbane residents Chris De Rooy and her 22-year-old son Seth both live with epilepsy, a condition that causes abnormal electrical activity in the brain, resulting in seizures.

“Seth has had epilepsy since he was two years old, and by the time he was 12 he was having up to 48 seizures every year,” De Rooy said.

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“A lot of the time he would end up in hospital because we couldn’t get him to breath. It was very frightening.”

Seth was eventually diagnosed with a genetic mutation in the ion channel KCNH1 several years ago.

Ion channels allow ions like sodium and potassium to pass through, controlling electrical and chemical signalling in cells.

Now, new research by the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) and The University of Queensland (UQ) shows spider-venom peptides have been found to correct the ion channel mutations that underlie many genetic epilepsies, such as Seth’s, making it a “precision therapy” for drug-resistant genetic epilepsies.

RBWH Neurologist Lata Vadlamudi said the research represents hope for people with these severe epilepsies.

Spider-venom peptides have been found to correct the ion channel mutations that underlie many genetic epilepsies. Credit: 7NEWS

“For Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies, the seizures represent only the tip of the iceberg in terms of quality of life,” she said.

“Below the surface lies intellectual challenges, behavioural issues, gastrointestinal and sleep issues, movement disorders and most devastatingly, increased risk of premature death.

“This leads to an enormous stress on carers looking after their child with a Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathy.”

In Australia, approximately 250,000 people are currently living with epilepsy, according to UQ.

Brisbane residents Chris De Rooy and her 22-year-old son Seth De Rooy. Credit: 7NEWSIn Australia, approximately 250,000 people are currently living with epilepsy Credit: 7NEWS

More than 30 per cent of patients with epilepsy are resistant to treatment, with researchers saying this has not changed in 30 years, despite more than 25 anti-seizure medications on the market.

UQ Professor Glenn King said spiders have spent about 400 million years developing “very selective and potent modulators of the ion channels” that he and his team are interested in.

“We interrogate those venoms to find small proteins called peptides that will modulate the ion channel in the way we want so we restore normal brain activity in epilepsy patients,” King said.

De Rooy said her son Seth started seeing an adult neurologist at age 18 and has been able to find medication that works for him.

“He doesn’t have many seizures anymore,” she said.

“To know there is research happening right on our doorstep that could change the lives of someone like Seth down the track is so heartening.”

Researchers like Vadlamudi said their research stems from observing the “long and tumultuous journey” that many patients have endured from a “trial-and-error approach to anti-seizure treatment”, and that it is time high time for change.

“We want to change this paradigm, so we can improve quality of life for patients with epilepsy,” she said.

“With innovative patient-specific therapeutics such as spider-venom peptides, we now have the potential for targeted treatment approaches that treat the specific cause and not just the seizure.”