LAUSR

Epilepsy is a disease that often stigmatizes those who suffer from it. In their article, Walker et al. (2022) provide groundbreaking work concerning the ethical issues that arise in research, development, and clinical application of epilepsy treatment using brain organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. We greatly appreciate their insight. Building on their work, we argue in this commentary that the development of a treatment strategy will not come to fruition if communication between medical practitioners and patients is not explored. We hope to expand on the authors’ insights by focusing on the public aspects of epilepsy treatment. However, before we discuss the public issues relating to the treatment of epilepsy with iPS cell-derived brain organoids, there is a need to review some technical issues related to research of this kind. Although research on brain organoids has already commenced, potential difficulties remain concerning drug development and the attendant research processes that result in clinical application. There are also medical-social issues relating to cost versus benefit, since culturing autologous iPS cells for use in precision medicine is an expensive process. In addition, the development of the technology itself is expected to be very difficult. However, given the importance of epilepsy treatment to society, the development of strategies for treatment using iPS cell-derived brain organoids is a worthwhile challenge. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION