Age-dependent consequences of status epilepticus: animal models

Status epilepticus (SE) is a significant neurological emergency that occurs most commonly in children. Although SE has been associated with an elevated risk of brain injury, it is unclear from clinical studies in whom and under what circumstances brain injury will occur. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the effects of age on the consequences of SE. In this review, we focus mainly on the animal data that describe the consequences of a single episode of SE induced in the adult and immature rat brain. The experimental data suggest that the risk of developing SE-induced brain damage, subsequent epilepsy and cognitive deficits in large part depends on the age in which the SE occurs. Younger rats are more resistant to seizure-induced brain damage than older rats; however, when SE occurs in immature rats with abnormal brains, there is an increase in the severity of seizure-induced brain injury. Better understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the age-specific alterations to the brain induced by SE will lead to the development of novel and effective strategies to improve the deleterious consequences.