Gene therapy in human disease has expanded rapidly in recent years with the 
development of safer and more effective viral vectors, and presents a novel 
approach to the treatment of epilepsy. Studies in animals models have 
demonstrated that overexpression of inhibitory peptides can modify seizure 
threshold, prevent the development of epilepsy, and modify established epilepsy. 
More recently there has been a flurry of studies using optogenetics in which 
light-activated channels expressed in neurons can transiently change neuronal 
excitability on exposure to light, thereby enabling the development of closed 
loop systems to detect and stop seizure activity. The treatment of status 
epilepticus presents its own challenges. Because of both the delay in gene 
expression following transfection and also the necessity of using focal 
transfection, there are a limited number of situations in which gene therapy can 
be used in status epilepticus. One such condition is epilepsia partialis 
continua (EPC). We have used gene therapy in a model of EPC and have shown that 
we can "cure" the condition. Recent evidence suggesting that gene therapy 
targeting subcortical regions can modify generalized or more diffuse epilepsies, 
indicates that the range of situations in status epilepticus in which gene 
therapy could be used will expand.