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REVIEW article

Front. Mol. Neurosci.
Sec. Brain Disease Mechanisms
Volume 17 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2024.1454780
This article is part of the Research Topic Biomarkers, Mechanisms, and Treatment Strategies for Epilepsy - Volume II View all 4 articles

A review of the pathogenesis of epilepsy based on the microbiota-gutbrain-axis theory

Provisionally accepted
Yang Wentao Yang Wentao 1hua cui hua cui 1*chaojie wang chaojie wang 1xuan wang xuan wang 2ciai yan ciai yan 1weiping cheng weiping cheng 2*
  • 1 Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
  • 2 First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The pathogenesis of epilepsy is related to the microbiota-gut-brain axis, but the mechanism has not been clarified. The microbiota-gut-brain axis is divided into the microbiota-gut-brain axis (upward pathways) and the brain-gut-microbiota axis (downward pathways) according to the direction of conduction. Gut microorganisms are involved in pathological and physiological processes in the human body and participate in epileptogenesis through neurological, immunological, endocrine, and metabolic pathways, as well as through the gut barrier and blood brain barrier mediated upward pathways. After epilepsy, the downward pathway mediated by the HPA axis and autonomic nerves triggers "leaky brain " and "leaky gut", resulting in the formation of microbial structures and enterobacterial metabolites associated with epileptogenicity, re-initiating seizures via the upward pathway. Characteristic changes in microbial and metabolic pathways in the gut of epileptic patients provide new targets for clinical prevention and treatment of epilepsy through the upward pathway. Based on these changes, this review further redescribes the pathogenesis of epilepsy and provides a new direction for its prevention and treatment.Based on the microbiota-gut-brain axis upward and downward pathways, this paper further describes the pathogenesis and prevention mechanism of epilepsy and provides a new direction for the prevention and treatment of epilepsy.

    Keywords: microbiota-gut-brain-axis1, Epilepsy2, gut barrier3, blood-brain barrier4, pathological5, physiological6

    Received: 25 Jun 2024; Accepted: 20 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wentao, cui, wang, wang, yan and cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    hua cui, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
    weiping cheng, First Affiliated Hospital of Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.