https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spermine

“The scientists investigated how much of the seizure-inhibiting substance is present in the nerve cells of rats suffering from epilepsy and compared the values to those of healthy animals. “The amount of spermine in the cells of the hippocampus was significantly reduced in diseased animals as compared to the healthy animals,” report the lead authors Dr. Michel Royeck and Dr. Thoralf Optiz from Dr. Beck’s team. “Furthermore, the reduced spermine in the nerve cell led to increased excitability; the cells were more sensitive to input and generated more output” said fellow lead author Dr. Tony Kelly. The investigators tested this important finding, compensating for the deficiency in the nerve cells of epileptic rats by adding spermine back into the cell. As a result, the increase in sodium currents was reversed and the excitability of the neuron returned to normal.

The lower level of spermine in the epileptic rat’s brain was evidently caused by an upregulation of spermidine/spermine-N(1)-acetyltransferase. This enzyme breaks down the spermine which is important in the control of sodium channels. According to the scientists, this result could be a potential starting point for novel epilepsy therapies. “If a substance was available to reduce the activity of acetyltransferase back to normal levels, the lack of spermine and thus the symptoms of epilepsy could be mitigated,” speculates Prof. Beck. However, concrete therapeutic applications are still a long way off.”