Assessment of inhibition and epileptiform activity in the septal dentate gyrus of freely behaving rats during the first week after kainate treatment.

Mossy fiber reorganization has been hypothesized to restore inhibition months after kainate-induced status epilepticus. The time course of recovery of inhibition after kainate treatment, however, is not well established. We tested the hypothesis that if inhibition is decreased after kainate treatment, it is restored within the first week when little or no mossy fiber reorganization has occurred. Chronic in vivo recordings of the septal dentate gyrus were performed in rats before and 1, 4, and 7-8 d after kainate (multiple injections of 5 mg/kg, i.p.; n = 17) or saline (n = 11) treatment. Single and paired-pulse stimuli were used to assess synaptic inhibition. The first day after kainate treatment, only a fraction of rats showed multiple population spikes (35%), prolonged field postsynaptic potentials (76%), and loss of paired-pulse inhibition (29%) to perforant path stimulation. Thus, inhibition was reduced in only some of the kainate-treated rats. By 7-8 d after treatment, nearly all kainate-treated rats showed partial or full recovery in these response characteristics. Histological analysis indicated that kainate-treated rats had a significant decrease in the number of hilar neurons compared to controls, but Timm staining showed little to no mossy fiber reorganization. These results suggest that a decrease in synaptic inhibition in the septal dentate gyrus is not a prerequisite for epileptogenesis and that most of the recovery of inhibition occurs before robust Timm staining in the inner molecular layer.

Spontaneous motor seizures of rats with kainate-induced epilepsy: effect of time of day and activity state.

Kainate treatment in rats can result in a chronic behavioral state that is similar to human temporal lobe epilepsy. We tested the hypothesis that, like some humans with epilepsy, rat with kainate-induced epilepsy have more spontaneous motor seizures during inactivity (i.e. little to no volitional movement, including apparent sleep) than during activity (i.e. apparent volitional movement, as in walking, grooming, eating, etc.). Rats were given intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of kainate (5 mg/kg) every hour so that class III/IV/V seizures were elicited for > or = 3 h. Seizure behavior was video-monitored (24 h for 5-6 days, n = 32 rats at 3 months and n = 23 rats at 4 months after treatment) to examine the occurrence of seizures as a function of light versus dark (12-12-h light-dark cycle) and inactivity versus activity. Significantly more spontaneous motor seizures occurred during inactive versus active states (82% vs. 18%, P = 0.0001). Although more seizures occurred during the light period than the dark, the difference was not significant (62% vs. 38%, P > 0. 1). These data suggest that the frequency of spontaneous motor seizures in the rat with kainate-induced epilepsy depends primarily on activity state rather than time of day (i.e. time during the light-dark cycle). The effect of inactivity on the occurrence of seizures in the rat with kainate-induced epilepsy appears similar to some forms of human epilepsy.

Recurrent spontaneous motor seizures after repeated low-dose systemic treatment with kainate: assessment of a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Human temporal lobe epilepsy is associated with complex partial seizures that can produce secondarily generalized seizures and motor convulsions. In some patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, the seizures and convulsions occur following a latent period after an initial injury and may progressively increase in frequency for much of the patient's life. Available animal models of temporal lobe epilepsy are produced by acute treatments that often have high mortality rates and/or are associated with a low proportion of animals developing spontaneous chronic motor seizures. In this study, rats were given multiple low-dose intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of kainate in order to minimize the mortality rate usually associated with single high-dose injections. We tested the hypothesis that these kainate-treated rats consistently develop a chronic epileptic state (i.e. long-term occurrence of spontaneous, generalized seizures and motor convulsions) following a latent period after the initial treatment. Kainate (5 mg/kg per h, i.p.) was administered to rats every hour for several hours so that class III-V seizures were elicited for > or = 3 h, while control rats were treated similarly with saline. This treatment protocol had a relatively low mortality rate (15%). After acute treatment, rats were observed for the occurrence of motor seizures for 6-8 h/week. Nearly all of the kainate-treated rats (97%) had two or more spontaneous motor seizures months after treatment. With this observation protocol, the average latency for the first spontaneous motor seizure was 77+/-38 (+/-S.D.) days after treatment. Although variability was observed between rats, seizure frequency initially increased with time after treatment, and nearly all of the kainate-treated rats (91%) had spontaneous motor seizures until the time of euthanasia (i.e. 5-22 months after treatment). Therefore, multiple low-dose injections of kainate, which cause recurrent motor seizures for > or = 3 h, lead to the development of a chronic epileptic state that is characterized by (i) a latent period before the onset of chronic motor seizures, and (ii) a high but variable seizure frequency that initially increases with time after the first chronic seizure. This modification of the kainate-treatment protocol is efficient and relatively simple, and the properties of the chronic epileptic state appear similar to severe human temporal lobe epilepsy. Furthermore, the observation that seizure frequency initially increased as a function of time after kainate treatment supports the hypothesis that temporal lobe epilepsy can be a progressive syndrome.

The use of birthweight and gestation to assess perinatal mortality risk.

Using extensive international data it is shown in detail how mortality is related to birthweight and gestation. It is demonstrated that the widely used 'birthweight for length of gestation' standards can be seriously misleading. A new 'high risk' classification is proposed.