Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41981306›Full record

ArticleNature medicine2026

Antisense oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown therapy in two infants with severe KCNT1 epileptic encephalopathy.

Tojo Nakayama, Christelle M El Achkar, Lisseth E Burbano, Imran H Quraishi, Jing Wu, Melody Li, Yutaro Asami, Sean R Golinski, Emma Sherrill, Benjamin D Goodlett and 25 more

Abstract readCase Reports
In one paragraph

Article in Nature medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

35 authors.

Tojo Nakayama *Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Christelle M El Achkar *Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Lisseth E BurbanoDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Imran H QuraishiComprehensive Epilepsy Center, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2859-7446
Jing WuDepartment of Pharmacology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3479-5561
Melody LiThe Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Yutaro AsamiDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-5237-5620
Sean R GolinskiDepartment of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
Emma SherrillDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Benjamin D GoodlettDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Claudio M de GusmaoDepartment of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Danielle A FriedmanDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Claudia LentucciDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Victoria SuslovitchDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Olivia RiccardiDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Kamli N W FaourDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Ashley KuniholmClinical Research Operations Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Aubrie Soucy VerranDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8633-0032
Siobhan CoffmanDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Banu AhtamDepartment of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Boxun ZhaoDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2337-5756
Diana H ChinDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1645-3552
Renata L DiDonatoDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Chunguang A HuDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Edith LopezDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-5316-8869
Sonia HillsDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Snezana MaljevicThe Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1876-5872
Helene TranR&D Servier Institute Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France.
Lynn W BushDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6668-188X
Patricia Ellen GrantDepartment of Radiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Joseph R MadsenHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0001-5377-8997
Richard S SmithDepartment of Pharmacology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1937-6529
Leonard K KaczmarekDepartment of Pharmacology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5128-6326
Charles B BerdeDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Timothy W YuDivision of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. Timothy.Yu@childrens.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2988-7701

Funding

Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center (UL1)UL1TR000170 · NCATS · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · PI NADLER, LEE MARSHALL · 2012 to 2013
$31.4M
Cellular Regulation of Sodium-activated Potassium ChannelsR01NS102239 · NINDS · YALE UNIVERSITY · PI LEONARD K KACZMAREK · 2018 to 2026
$3.5M
Providing ethical guidance for the development of individualized genomic medicine as rare as n-of-1R01HG012247 · NHGRI · BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · PI BUSH, LYNN WEIN, HOLM, INGRID ADELE · 2022 to 2025
$3.0M
Role for ion conducting proteins in cortical malformation diseasesR00NS112604 · NINDS · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · PI SMITH, RICHARD S · 2023 to 2025
$715k
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000170NHGRI NIH HHS R01 HG012247NINDS NIH HHS R00 NS112604NINDS NIH HHS R01 NS102239
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

KCNT1-related epileptic encephalopathy, including epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures, is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder associated with refractory seizures, profound neurologic impairment and premature death. It is caused by de novo genetic variants in KCNT1 that alter the function of Slack, an evolutionarily conserved sodium-gated potassium channel that modulates neuronal firing patterns and excitability. Pathogenic KCNT1 variants lead to overactive Slack channels, boosting total neuronal potassium currents by up to 40%, driving cortical hyperexcitability and causing seizures. Here we investigate antisense oligonucleotide-mediated KCNT1 knockdown as a therapeutic strategy for patients with epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures. Intrathecal delivery of an experimental, non-allele-specific, KCNT1-targeting antisense oligonucleotide by lumbar puncture in two 2-year-old females with KCNT1 p.R474H, a severe, recurrent pathogenic variant, led to a significant reduction in seizure frequency and intensity. However, investigational treatment was also associated with the development of ventricular enlargement or hydrocephalus in both patients, prompting in one case the redirection of goals of care, pointing to a potential monitorable toxicity of some intrathecal antisense oligonucleotides.

Indexed as

EpilepsyNerve Tissue ProteinsOligonucleotides, AntisensePotassium ChannelsChild, PreschoolFemaleGene Knockdown TechniquesHumansInfantPotassium Channels, Sodium-ActivatedSeizuresKCNT1 protein, humanNerve Tissue ProteinsOligonucleotides, AntisensePotassium ChannelsPotassium Channels, Sodium-Activated

Identifiers

PMID41981306
PMCPMC13099374

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.