A Single High Dose of Flufenamic Acid in Rats does not Reduce the Damage Associated with the Rat Lithium-Pilocarpine Model of Status Epilepticus but Leads to Deleterious Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic diseases, and around 30% of all epilepsies, particularly the temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), are highly refractory to current pharmacological treatments. Abnormal synchronic neuronal activity, brain glucose metabolism alterations, neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are features of epilepsy. Further, neuroinflammation has been shown to contribute to dysregulation of neuronal excitability and the progression of epileptogenesis. Flufenamic acid (FLU), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, is also characterized by its wide properties as a dose-dependent ion channel modulator. In this context, in vitro studies have shown that it abolishes seizure-like events in neocortical slices stimulated with a gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptor blocker. However, little is known about its effects in animal models. Thus, our goal was to assess the efficacy and safety of a relatively high dose of FLU in the lithium-pilocarpine rat model of status epilepticus (SE). This animal model reproduces many behavioral and neurobiological features of TLE such as short-term brain hypometabolism, severe hippocampal neurodegeneration and inflammation reflected by a marked reactive astrogliosis. METHODS: FLU (100 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered to adult male rats, 150 min before SE induced by pilocarpine. Three days after the SE, brain glucose metabolism was assessed by 2-deoxy-2-[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). Markers of hippocampal integrity, neurodegeneration and reactive astrogliosis were also evaluated. RESULTS: FLU neither prevented the occurrence of the SE nor affected brain glucose hypometabolism as assessed by [18F]FDG PET. Regarding the neurohistochemical studies, FLU neither prevented neuronal damage nor hippocampal reactive astrogliosis. On the contrary, FLU increased the mortality rate and negatively affected body weight in the rats that survived the SE. CONCLUSIONS: Our results do not support an acute anticonvulsant effect of a single dose of FLU. Besides, FLU did not show short-term neuroprotective or anti-inflammatory effects in the rat lithium-pilocarpine model of SE. Moreover, at the dose administered, FLU resulted in deleterious effects.

PET Imaging and Neurohistochemistry Reveal that Curcumin Attenuates Brain Hypometabolism and Hippocampal Damage Induced by Status Epilepticus in Rats.

Numerous preclinical studies provide evidence that curcumin, a polyphenolic phytochemical extracted from Curcuma longa (turmeric) has neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties against various neurological disorders. Curcumin neuroprotective effects have been reported in different animal models of epilepsy, but its potential effect attenuating brain glucose hypometabolism, considered as an early marker of epileptogenesis that occurs during the silent period following status epilepticus (SE), still has not been addressed. To this end, we used the lithium-pilocarpine rat model to induce SE. Curcumin was administered orally (300 mg/kg/day, for 17 days). Brain glucose metabolism was evaluated in vivo by 2-deoxy-2-[18F]Fluoro-D-Glucose ([18F]FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). In addition, hippocampal integrity, neurodegeneration, microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, and reactive astrogliosis were evaluated as markers of brain damage. SE resulted in brain glucose hypometabolism accompanied by body weight (BW) loss, hippocampal neuronal damage, and neuroinflammation. Curcumin did not reduce the latency time to the SE onset, nor the mortality rate associated with SE. Nevertheless, it reduced the number of seizures, and in the surviving rats, curcumin protected BW and attenuated the short-term glucose brain hypometabolism as well as the signs of neuronal damage and neuroinflammation induced by the SE. Overall, our results support the potential adaptogen-like effects of curcumin attenuating key features of SE-induced brain damage.