Description
Succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder effecting approximately 350 people around the world. Patients suffering from SSADH deficiency experience language acquisition failure, memory deficiencies, autism, increased aggressive behaviors, and seizures. There is a chemical buildup of both gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in the neurological system of these patients. The Aldh5a1-/- knock out mouse model of SSADH deficiency shows the same chemical imbalances as the human disease, with additional fatal tonic-clonic seizures at three weeks of age. The elucidation of seizure causing pathways will facilitate treatment of seizure phenotypes in diseases with related epilepsy.