Interictal spikes, seizures and ictal cell death are not necessary for post-traumatic epileptogenesis in vitro.

ABSTRACT: Clinical studies indicate that phenytoin prevents acute post-traumatic seizures but not subsequent post-traumatic epilepsy. We explored this phenomenon using organotypic hippocampal slice cultures as a model of severe traumatic brain injury. Hippocampal slices were cultured for up to eight weeks, during which acute and chronic electrical recordings revealed a characteristic evolution of spontaneous epileptiform discharges, including interictal spikes, seizure activity and electrical status epilepticus. Cell death exhibited an early peak immediately following slicing, and a later secondary peak that coincided with the peak of seizure-like activity. The secondary peak in neuronal death was abolished by either blockade of glutamatergic transmission with kynurenic acid or by elimination of ict

SUBMITTER: Berdichevsky Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3786688 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature