New Scientist: 21 June 2004

IN BRIEF
THE VAC FACTOR
A VACUUM cleaner may have revealed genes linked to epilepsy.

Ueli Schibler’s team at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, set out
to study the circadian genes that control our body clock. The team found
there was a high death rate among mice lacking three key circadian
genes. But what was killing them off? The researchers noticed most died
on days when the lab was cleaned. Once they had made the connection,
they soon worked out that the loud noise made by the vacuum cleaner was
triggering epileptic fits in the mice.

Subsequent investigations revealed that the loss of all three genes
disrupts production of an enzyme vital in making neurotransmitters that
damp down electrical activity in the brain (Genes & Development, vol 18,
p 1397). Without it, the mice were prone to fits. The team is now trying
to find out if people with epilepsy have mutations in the circadian
genes or the enzyme.