New epilepsy treatments are needed that not only inhibit seizures 
symptomatically (antiseizure) but also prevent the development of epilepsy 
(antiepileptogenic). The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway may 
mediate mechanisms of epileptogenesis and serve as a rational therapeutic 
target. mTOR inhibitors have antiepileptogenic and antiseizure effects in animal 
models of the genetic disease, tuberous sclerosis complex. The mTOR pathway is 
also implicated in epileptogenesis in animal models of acquired epilepsy and 
infantile spasms, although the effects of mTOR inhibitors are variable depending 
on the specific conditions and model. Furthermore, beneficial effects on 
seizures are lost when treatment is withdrawn, suggesting that mTOR inhibitors 
are "epileptostatic" in only stalling epilepsy progression during treatment. 
Clinical studies of rapamycin in human epilepsy are limited, but suggest that 
mTOR inhibitors at least have antiseizure effects in tuberous sclerosis 
patients. Further studies are needed to assess the full potential of mTOR 
inhibitors for epilepsy treatment.