Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects around 1% of the population 
worldwide. The two main therapies, pharmacology and the electrical stimulation, 
both have some shortcomings. For instance, pharmacological therapy is frequently 
accompanied by side effects, and current anticonvulsive drugs fail to be 
effective to around a third of patients. These patients could suffer 
astrocyte-related epilepsy, as increasing evidence indicates that dysfunctions 
of astrocytes can result in epilepsy. However, epilepsy drugs that affect 
astrocytes are not available currently. Although electrical stimulation has 
benefited many patients, the electrode stimulates unselective neurons or 
circuits. All these need to develop new strategies for improving the life of the 
patients. As channelrhodopsins (ChRs) were discovered, a novel method referred 
to as "optogenetics" was developed. It has advantages over electrical 
stimulation of being less-invasiveness and allowing spatiotemporally 
stimulation. Recently, a number of experiments have explored the treatments for 
epilepsy with optogenetic control of neurons. Here, we discuss the possibility 
that an optogenetic approach could be used to control the release of 
gliotransmitters and improve astrocyte function such as glutamate and K(+) 
uptake, and thereby offer a potential strategy to investigate and treat 
astrocyte-related epilepsy.