EN
Epilepsy frequently develops as a result of brain insult, e.g., brain injury, stroke, inflammation, or status epilepticus, however currently there are no tools allowing us to predict which patients suffering from trauma will eventually develop epilepsy or how severe it is going to be. In recent years, small non‑coding RNAs are proposed as biomarkers for neurological diseases. Particularly microRNAs are interesting candidates, as several of them were described as changing its levels in the brain of epileptic patients and in epilepsy animal models. There is evidence suggesting that microRNAs levels are also altered in the blood of epileptic subjects, making them attractive candidates for peripheral biomarkers of epilepsy. Levels of miRNA in the blood are altered following epileptogenic stimulus and differentiate between animals with frequent and rare seizures. miRNA may become a useful peripheral biomarker of epileptogenesis/epilepsy as well as severity of the disease. Described research is part of the EPITARGET Consortium.