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Updated: Jun 1, 2026
Electroconvulsive Seizures in Rats and Fractionation of Their Hippocampi to Examine Seizure-induced Changes in Postsynaptic Density Proteins
Published on: August 15, 2017
Isolated seizures in rats do not cause neuronal injury
M T Acosta1, J Munashinge, L Zhang
1Department of Neurology, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
Background:
Previous studies have shown that status epilepticus can lead to neuronal injury. However, the effect of a small number of isolated seizures is uncertain.
Methods:
We used structural MRI and neuropathology to study the effects of isolated seizures induced by kainic acid (KA), (RS)-2-amino-3-(3-hydroxy-5-tert-butylisoxazole-4-yl)propanoic acid (ATPA), and α-amino-3-hydroxyl-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionate in rats. A group of animals received normal saline. After seizure induction, animals were followed for 12 weeks.
Results:
ATPA and KA led to small but significant increases in ADC. There were no changes in T2 signal intensity or hippocampal volume. Blinded pathological examination showed no differences between animals receiving saline or glutamatergic agents.
Conclusion:
Our study suggests that isolated seizures cause minimal neuronal injury in rats.
