Type 2 diabetes mellitus facilitates status epilepticus in adult rats: Seizure severity, neurodegeneration, and oxidative stress.

Objective: The goal of this research was to evaluate the effect of DM type 2 (DM2) on SE severity, neurodegeneration, and brain oxidative stress (OS) secondary to seizures.

Methods: DM2 was induced in postnatal day (P) 3 male rat pups by injecting streptozocin (STZ) 100 mg/kg; control rats were injected with citrate buffer as vehicle. At P90, SE was induced by the lithium-pilocarpine administration and seizure latency, frequency, and severity were evaluated.

Transgenic rodents as dynamic models for the study of respiratory rhythm generation and modulation: a scoping review and a bibliometric analysis.

The pre-Bötzinger complex, situated in the ventrolateral medulla, serves as the central generator for the inspiratory phase of the respiratory rhythm. Evidence strongly supports its pivotal role in generating, and, in conjunction with the post-inspiratory complex and the lateral parafacial nucleus, in shaping the respiratory rhythm. While there remains an ongoing debate concerning the mechanisms underlying these nuclei's ability to generate and modulate breathing, transgenic rodent models have significantly contributed to our understanding of these processes.

A modification to the Kuramoto model to simulate epileptic seizures as synchronization.

The Kuramoto model was developed to describe the coupling of oscillators, motivated by the natural synchronization phenomena. We are interested in modeling an epileptic seizure considering it as the synchronization of action potentials using and modifying this model. In this article, we propose to modify this model, changing the constant coupling force for a function with logistic growth to simulate the onset and epileptic seizure level in an adult male rat caused by the administration of lithium-pilocarpine.

Oxidative stress: a common imbalance in diabetes and epilepsy.

The brain requires a large amount of energy. Its function can be altered when energy demand exceeds supply or during metabolic disturbances such as diabetes mellitus. Diabetes, a chronic disease with a high incidence worldwide, is characterized by high glucose levels (hyperglycemia); however, hypoglycemic states may also occur due to insulin treatment or poor control of the disease.

Advances and Challenges of Cannabidiol as an Anti-Seizure Strategy: Preclinical Evidence.

The use of Cannabis for medicinal purposes has been documented since ancient times, where one of its principal cannabinoids extracted from , cannabidiol (CBD), has emerged over the last few years as a promising molecule with anti-seizure potential. Here, we present an overview of recent literature pointing out CBD's pharmacological profile (solubility, metabolism, drug-drug interactions, etc.,), CBD's interactions with multiple molecular targets as well as advances in preclinical research concerning its anti-seizure effect on both acute seizure models and chronic models of epilepsy.

Microglia and status epilepticus in the immature brain.

Microglia are the resident immune cells of the Central Nervous System (CNS), which are activated due to brain damage, as part of the neuroinflammatory response. Microglia undergo morphological and biochemical modifications during activation, adopting a pro-inflammatory or an antiinflammatory state. In the developing brain, status epilepticus (SE) promotes microglia activation that is associated with neuronal injury in some areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus, thalamus, and amygdala.

Analixity: An open source, low-cost analysis system for the elevated plus maze test, based on computer vision techniques.

Manual analysis of behavioral tests in rodents involves inspection of video recordings by a researcher that assesses rodent movements to quantify parameters related with a behavior of interest. The assessment of the researcher during the quantification of such parameters can introduce variability among experimental conditions or among sessions of analysis. Here, we introduce Analixity, a video processing software for the elevated plus maze test (EPM), in which quantification of behavioral parameters is automatic, reducing the time spent in analysis and solving the variability problem.

Enhanced D2 Agonism Induces Conditioned Appetitive Sexual Responses Toward Non-reproductive Conspecifics.

Brain mechanisms of sexual attraction toward reproductive partners develop from a systematic interrelationship between biology (nature) and learning (nurture). However, the causes of attraction toward non-reproductive partners are poorly understood. Here, we explored the role of Pavlovian learning under dopaminergic agonism on the development of sexual preference and brain activation for young male rats.

Anxiolytic effect of chronic intake of supplemental magnesium chloride in rat.

Evidence suggest that magnesium dietary supplementation has several health benefits including lowering blood pressure, reducing insulin resistance, and improving symptoms of depression, anxiety, and migraine. Here, we aimed to study the effect of chronic magnesium supplementation on anxiety-like behavior in rats by supplementing with magnesium their drinking water for 30 days. Anxiety-like behavior was induced by subcutaneous injection of veratrin 30 min before performing elevated plus maze and open field tests to measure anxiety levels and locomotion, respectively.

Long-term effects of status epilepticus during infancy in male rats: Sexual behavior and brain response upon exposure to sexually receptive females.

Previous research in female rats showed that induction of status epilepticus (SE) during infancy impairs proceptive sexual behavior at the long run in adulthood but temporarily, since full proceptivity is recovered after four mating trials. In male rats, such equivalent effects have not been explored yet. Thus, SE was experimentally induced by injecting lithium chloride (3 mEq/kg, i.

Status Epilepticus Increases Cell Proliferation and Neurogenesis in the Developing Rat Cerebellum.

Status epilepticus (SE) promotes neuronal proliferation and differentiation in the adult and developing rodent hippocampus. However, the effect of SE on other neurogenic brain regions such as the cerebellum has been less explored. To determine whether SE induced by pentylentetrazole (PTZ-SE) and lithium-pilocarpine (Li-Pilo-SE) increases cell proliferation and neurogenesis in the developing rat cerebellum.

Pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in developing rats prenatally exposed to valproic acid.

Background: Epidemiological evidence indicates epilepsy is more common in patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (20-25%) than in the general population. The aim of this project was to analyze seizure susceptibility in developing rats prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA) as autism model.

Methods: Pregnant females were injected with VPA during the twelfth embryonic day.

Hippocampal distribution of IL-1β and IL-1RI following lithium-pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in the developing rat.

The contribution of Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) to neuronal injury induced by status epilepticus (SE) in the immature brain remains unclear. The goal of this study was to determine the hippocampal expression of IL-1β and its type 1 receptor (IL-1RI) following SE induced by the lithium-pilocarpine model in fourteen-days-old rat pups; control animals were given an equal volume of saline instead of the convulsant. IL-1β and IL-1RI mRNA hippocampal levels were assessed by qRT-PCR 6 and 24 h after SE or control conditions.

IL-1β increases necrotic neuronal cell death in the developing rat hippocampus after status epilepticus by activating type I IL-1 receptor (IL-1RI).

Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is associated with seizure-induced neuronal cell death in the adult brain. The contribution of IL-1β to neuronal injury induced by status epilepticus (SE) in the immature brain remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the effects of IL-1β administration on hippocampal neuronal cell death associated with SE in the immature brain, and the role of the type I receptor of IL-1β (IL-1RI).

Status epilepticus during early development disrupts sexual behavior in adult female rats: recovery with sexual experience.

Female sexual behavior is sensitive to stress and diseases. Some studies have shown that status epilepticus (SE) can affect sexual proceptivity and receptivity in female rats and also increases reject responses towards males. However, epidemiologic studies indicate that SE is more frequent in young individuals.

Effect of lithium-pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus on ultrasonic vocalizations in the infant rat pup.

Evidence shows that febrile convulsions induced in rat pups increase ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs); however, the effect of status epilepticus (SE) induced in developing rats on USVs has not been fully investigated. The goal of this study was to analyze USVs following lithium-pilocarpine-induced SE in fourteen-day-old (P14) rat pups. The rat pups were given 3-mEq/kg lithium chloride i.

Growth hormone (GH) is a survival rather than a proliferative factor for embryonic striatal neural precursor cells.

Objective: A possible role of GH during central nervous system (CNS) development has been suggested by the presence of this hormone and its receptor in brain areas before its production by the pituitary gland. Although several effects have been reported for GH, the specific role of this hormone during CNS development remains unclear. Here, we examined the effect of GH on proliferation, survival and neurosphere formation in primary cultures of striatal tissue from 14-day-old (E14) mouse embryos.

Tickling in juvenile but not adult female rats conditions sexual partner preference.

Female rats display a conditioned partner preference for males that bear odors paired with different types of rewarding unconditioned stimuli (UCS). Here we examined whether tickling constitutes a rewarding UCS that supports the development of partner preferences. In Experiment 1, we tested the possibility that odors associated with a tickling UCS in prepubescent rats would induce a conditioned partner preference in adulthood.

Amino acid tissue levels and GABAA receptor binding in the developing rat cerebellum following status epilepticus.

Incidence of status epilepticus (SE) is higher in children than in adults and SE can be induced in developing rats. The cerebellum can be affected after SE; however, consequences of cerebellar amino acid transmission have been poorly studied. The goal of this study was to determine amino acid tissue concentration and GABA(A) receptor binding in the immature rat cerebellum after an episode of SE.

Distinct caspase pathways mediate necrosis and apoptosis in subpopulations of hippocampal neurons after status epilepticus.

Status epilepticus in the immature brain induces neuronal injury in the hippocampal formation, but the mode and mechanism of death are poorly understood. Our laboratory has recently investigated the role of caspase-3, -8, and -9 in neuronal injury, using a lithium-pilocarpine model of status epilepticus in 2-week-old rat pups. Our results showed that dying neurons in the dentate gyrus and CA1-subiculum area do not share the same mechanism of death.

Vulnerability of postnatal hippocampal neurons to seizures varies regionally with their maturational stage.

The mechanism of status epilepticus-induced neuronal death in the immature brain is not fully understood. In the present study, we examined the contribution of caspases in our lithium-pilocarpine model of status epilepticus in 14 days old rat pups. In CA1, upregulation of caspase-8, but not caspase-9, preceded caspase-3 activation in morphologically necrotic cells.

Contribution of a mitochondrial pathway to excitotoxic neuronal necrosis.

It is traditionally thought that excitotoxic necrosis is a passive mechanism that does not require the activation of a cell death program. In this study, we examined the contribution of the cytochrome c-dependent mitochondrial death pathway to excitotoxic neuronal necrosis, induced by exposing cultured cortical neurons to 1 mM glutamate for 6 hr and blocked by the NMDA antagonist, dizocilpine. Glutamate treatment induced early cytochrome c release, followed by activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3.

Participation of mu-calpain in status epilepticus-induced hippocampal injury.

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Do single seizures cause neuronal death in the human hippocampus?

The question of whether repeated single seizures cause neuronal death in the adult human brain is of great clinical importance and might have broad therapeutic implications. Reviewed here are recent studies on the effects of repeated single seizures (in the absence of status epilepticus) on hippocampal volume and on neuronal death markers in blood and in surgically ablated hippocampi.