SYNAPTOPATHIES (SYNAPS) PROJECT

The Synaptopathies Project established in 2015 by Professors Henry Houlden, Dimitri Kullman, Michael Hanna, James Rothman, and Vincenzo Salpietro is a collaborative research initiative dedicated to advancing the understanding of paroxysmal neurological disorders.

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It investigates episodic neurological conditions including epilepsy, movement disorders, headache disorders and rare sleep disorders. Unfortunately, for many of these conditions, we have yet to identify the genes involved. However, in the few cases where causative genes have been found, they have been involved in the synapse and synaptic transmission. This indicates that synaptic genes are highly likely to contribute to common sporadic forms of these diseases. The ultimate goal of this project is identify the genes involved in these conditions and understand how they work. This will provide unprecedented insight into the pathophysiology of these disorders and hopefully present potential targets for treatment.