Effect of different lithium priming schedule on pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in rats

The conventional method of inducing status epilepticus by injecting pilocarpine 24 h after lithium chloride (LiCl) administration lacks kinetic correlate. Therefore, the present study was conducted to see the effect of altering the time schedule of lithium administration (from 2 to 72 h) on the convulsive behavior in response to pilocarpine challenge in rats. It was observed that reducing the pretreatment time of lithium from 24 to 2 h produced convulsions in 100% of the rats. However, incidence of convulsions decreased when lithium pretreatment time was increased to 48 h and no convulsions were recorded with 72-h lithium time schedule. The neuronal damage assessed histologically and the effectiveness of diazepam was similar irrespective of time schedule. This study provides evidence that LiCl pretreatment schedule can be adopted at any time between 2 to 24 h to suit the convenience and objectives of the experiment.