Federal Grant Award Summary

New York Medical College received a $162,400 Project Grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders program (CFDA 93.853), effective May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2028. This award funds research to evaluate the efficacy of targeted deep brain stimulation (DBS) in treating refractory infantile epileptic spasms syndrome (IESS), a devastating early-onset epilepsy disorder characterized by spasms and abnormal EEG patterns. Current pharmacological treatments frequently fail and carry serious adverse effects, creating a clinical need for safer, more effective therapeutic alternatives.

The research employs a validated rodent model that replicates both clinical and electrographic features of IESS to test frequency-specific DBS targeting the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus and arcuate nucleus. The project includes two primary aims: establishing proof-of-principle therapeutic efficacy of DBS using high-frequency and low-frequency stimulation protocols, and optimizing stimulation paradigms through systematic evaluation of individual and concurrent target stimulation effects. Key outcome measures focus on reducing spasm frequency and normalizing EEG patterns of hypsarrhythmia. This mechanistically guided neuromodulatory strategy represents a novel approach to overcome limitations of existing therapies for drug-resistant cases of infantile epileptic spasms syndrome.