Age related increased threshold for electroshock seizure in BDF1 mice

A companion to the preclinical common data elements for phenotyping seizures and epilepsy in rodent models. A report of the TASK3-WG1C: Phenotyping working group of the ILAE/AES joint translational task force

Epilepsy is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by spontaneous seizures and behavioral comorbidities. The underlying mechanisms of seizures and epilepsy across various syndromes lead to diverse clinical presentation and features. Similarly, animal models of epilepsy arise from numerous dissimilar inciting events. Preclinical seizure and epilepsy models can be evoked through many different protocols, leaving the phenotypic reporting subject to diverse interpretations. Serendipity can also play an outsized role in uncovering novel drivers of seizures or epilepsy, with some investigators even stumbling into epilepsy research because of a new genetic cross or unintentional drug effect. The heightened emphasis on rigor and reproducibility in preclinical research, including that which is conducted for epilepsy, underscores the need for standardized phenotyping strategies. To address this goal as part of the TASK3-WG1C Working Group of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE)/American Epilepsy Society (AES) Joint Translational Task Force, we developed a case report form (CRF) to describe the common data elements (CDEs) necessary for the phenotyping of seizure-like behaviors in rodents. This companion manuscript describes the use of the proposed CDEs and CRF for the visual, behavioral phenotyping of seizure-like behaviors. These phenotyping CDEs and accompanying CRF can be used in parallel with video-electroencephalography (EEG) studies or as a first visual screen to determine whether a model manifests seizure-like behaviors before utilizing more specialized diagnostic tests, like video-EEG. Systematic logging of seizure-like behaviors may help identify models that could benefit from more specialized diagnostic tests to determine whether these are epileptic seizures, such as video-EEG.

Alterations of Serum Magnesium Concentration in Animal Models of Seizures and Epilepsy—The Effects of Treatment with a GPR39 Agonist and Knockout of the Gpr39 Gene

Several ligands have been proposed for the GPR39 receptor, including the element zinc. The relationship between GPR39 and magnesium homeostasis has not yet been examined, nor has such a relationship in the context of seizures/epilepsy. We used samples from mice that were treated with an agonist of the GPR39 receptor (TC-G 1008) and underwent acute seizures (maximal electroshock (MES)- or 6-hertz-induced seizures) or a chronic, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced kindling model of epilepsy. MES seizures and PTZ kindling, unlike 6 Hz seizures, increased serum magnesium concentration. In turn, Gpr39-KO mice that underwent PTZ kindling displayed decreased concentrations of this element in serum, compared to WT mice subjected to this procedure. However, the levels of expression of TRPM7 and SlC41A1 proteins—which are responsible for magnesium transport into and out of cells, respectively—did not differ in the hippocampus between Gpr39-KO and WT mice. Furthermore, laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry applied to hippocampal slices did not reveal differences in magnesium levels between the groups. These data show the relationship between magnesium homeostasis and certain types of acute or chronic seizures (MES seizures or PTZ kindling, respectively), but do not explicitly support the role of GPR39 in mediating magnesium balance in the hippocampus in the latter model. However, decreased expression of TRPM7 and increased expression of SLC41A1—which were observed in the hippocampi of Gpr39-KO mice treated with TC-G 1008, in comparison to WT mice that received the same treatment—implicitly support the link between GPR39 and hippocampal magnesium homeostasis.

Can Old Animals Reveal New Targets? The Aging and Degenerating Brain as a New Precision Medicine Opportunity for Epilepsy

Older people represent the fastest growing group with epilepsy diagnosis. For example, cerebrovascular disease may underlie roughly 30-50% of epilepsy in older adults and seizures are also an underrecognized comorbidity of Alzheimer's disease (AD). As a result, up to 10% of nursing home residents may take antiseizure medicines (ASMs). Despite the greater incidence of epilepsy in older individuals and increased risk of comorbid seizures in people with AD, aged animals with seizures are strikingly underrepresented in epilepsy drug discovery practice. Increased integration of aged animals into preclinical epilepsy drug discovery could better inform the potential tolerability and pharmacokinetic interactions in aged individuals as the global population becomes increasingly older. Quite simply, the ASMs on the market today were brought forth based on efficacy in young adult, neurologically intact rodents; preclinical information concerning the efficacy and safety of promising ASMs is not routinely evaluated in aged animals. Integrating aged animals more often into basic epilepsy research may also uncover novel treatments for hyperexcitability. For example, cannabidiol and fenfluramine demonstrated clear efficacy in syndrome-specific pediatric models that led to a paradigm shift in the perceived value of pediatric models for ASM discovery practice; aged rodents with seizures or rodents with aging-related neuropathology represent an untapped resource that could similarly change epilepsy drug discovery. This review, therefore, summarizes how aged rodent models have thus far been used for epilepsy research, what studies have been conducted to assess ASM efficacy in aged rodent seizure and epilepsy models, and lastly to identify remaining gaps to engage aging-related neurological disease models for ASM discovery, which may simultaneously reveal novel mechanisms associated with epilepsy.

Estrogen-dependent effect of soy extract on pentylenetetrazole-induced seizures in rats

OBJECTIVE

To study the different effects of soy extract on pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizures in the presence and absence of ovarian hormones in rats, and the gender-dependent differences in the effects of phytoestrogens on behavior.

METHODS

Male and female Wistar rats were randomly divided into nine groups with eight in each, namely, male-saline (M-saline), male-low-dose soy (M-LDS), male-high-dose soy (M-HDS), sham-saline (Sh-saline), sham-low-dose soy (Sh-LDS), sham-high-dose soy (Sh-HDS), ovariectomized-saline (OVX-saline), ovariectomized-low-dose soy (OVX-LDS) and ovariectomized-high-dose soy (OVX-HDS). The rats of groups 7 to 9 were ovariectomized under ketamine anesthesia. The rats of groups 2, 5 and 8 were treated by 20 mg/kg of soy extract while the animals of groups 3, 6 and 9 received 60 mg/kg of soy extract for two weeks. In groups 1, 4 and 7, saline was injected instead of soy extract. The animals were then injected by a single dose of PTZ (90 mg/kg body weight, intraperitoneally) and placed in a plexiglas cage and the latency to minimal clonic seizure (MCS) and generalized tonic-clonic seizure (GTCS) was recorded.

RESULTS

Both MCS and GTCS latency in M-LDS and M-HDS groups was significantly lower than that in M-saline group (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Treatment for female sham rats by soy extract did not affect MCS and GTCS latency. The animals of OVX-LDS and OVX-HDS groups had lower MCS and GTCS latency in comparison with OVX-saline group (P<0.05 or P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that the phytoestrogens of soy affect seizure severity induced by PTZ, but their effects are different in the presence or absence of ovarian hormones. However, further studies are necessary to be done.

Aging models of acute seizures and epilepsy

Aged animals have been used by researchers to better understand the differences between the young and the aged brain and how these differences may provide insight into the mechanisms of acute seizures and epilepsy in the elderly. To date, there have been relatively few studies dedicated to the modeling of acute seizures and epilepsy in aged, healthy animals. Inherent challenges to this area of research include the costs associated with the purchase and maintenance of older animals and, at times, the unexpected and potentially confounding comorbidities associated with aging. However, recent studies using a variety of in vivo and in vitro models of acute seizures and epilepsy in mice and rats have built upon early investigations in the field, all of which has provided an expanded vision of seizure generation and epileptogenesis in the aged brain. Results of these studies could potentially translate to new and tailored interventional approaches that limit or prevent the development of epilepsy in the elderly.

What really declines with age? The Hayflick Lecture for 2006 35th American Aging Association

In order to understand the basic mechanisms underlying the organismic aging process, considerable efforts have been devoted in the last half-century to biochemical (enzyme activity) alterations in specific tissues and organs of various organisms associated with aging. When a decline in enzyme activities with age has been found in a study, especially for key enzymes such as antioxidant enzymes, the results have often been interpreted as a cause for the aging of the entire body. Retrospectively, however, these changes turned out to be so variable--depending on species, strains and sexes of animals--that the interpretation of these results in general terms of aging became invalid. Further, unlike the prediction for the whole human body, many enzyme activities in a vital organ, such as the liver, remained unchanged, as long as the old subjects remained healthy. However, enzyme activities in old animals and humans are often more susceptible to morbidities and frailties, which themselves are often accompanied by infections and malnutrition. Despite the rather stable enzyme functions in the liver with age, a distinct and progressive decline in the lateral diffusion coefficient of proteins of hepatocyte plasma membranes has been demonstrated by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), which was implicated as the cause for the decline of hepatocyte functions such as ouabain (and taurocholate) hepatic uptake and their eventual biliary excretion. Since a similar decline in protein diffusion coefficients was observed in brain and muscle cells, it is likely that these changes are occurring in common with many cell types of the body, thus causing a delay in transmembrane transport of endogenous and exogenous substances whose transports are mediated by membrane proteins. In attempts to prolong the life spans of animals other than by calorie restriction, but instead using deprenyl or tetrahydrocurcumin, works by the author and coworkers are introduced and discussed. Despite limited success along these lines thus far, further attempts are encouraged, primarily to understand the mechanisms underlying organismic aging processes and to find a practical way to prolong the health span of the elderly.

Optical imaging reveals reduced seizure spread and propagation velocities in aged rat brain in vitro

Old age is the most common time for patients to develop epileptic seizures, and due to their frequent unusual clinical presentation the diagnosis of epilepsy is often delayed in the elderly. It is as yet unknown if pronounced alterations in the plastic properties of aging nervous tissue contribute to these phenomena. We employed a non-lesional in vitro epilepsy model to study seizure susceptibility, spread pattern, and propagation velocities in combined hippocampal-entorhinal cortex slices of aged rats and controls using electrophysiological methods and imaging of intrinsic optical signals. In aged animals we saw a less extensive spread of seizure-like events into areas adjacent to the region of onset of activity and a decreased spread velocity in various anatomical regions. In addition, both the activity-dependent shrinkage of the extracellular space (ECS)-volume and the extracellular K(+) concentration were significantly reduced compared to controls. The results of this study are consistent with the clinical observation that epileptic seizures in the elderly have a reduced tendency to spread. In addition, our data suggest that in the absence of structural lesions seizure susceptibility in the aging brain is not increased.

Sex differences in models of temporal lobe epilepsy: role of testosterone

Kainic acid and pilocarpine were used to assess sex differences in temporal lobe seizures. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with kainic acid (10-12 mg/kg) or with pilocarpine (380 mg/kg) and behavior was recorded for the next 3 h. Trunk blood was collected for hormonal measurements. Our data indicate that the male is more susceptible to the convulsant effects of agents that produce temporal lobe-like seizures. Males presented a higher amount of full limbic convulsions than females. To assess the role of plasma testosterone levels in kainate-induced seizures, a group of males was gonadectomized and half received testosterone replacement. The presence of testosterone, in intact and in gonadectomized males with testosterone replacement, increased the susceptibility to seizure. Seizures were either stronger (full limbic) or more frequent in animals with testosterone compared to animals devoid of testosterone. These results suggest that differences in plasma levels of testosterone may be partially responsible for the observed gender differences in seizure susceptibility. Our data reveal a reciprocal relationship between kainic acid-induced temporal lobe seizures and plasma testosterone. Testosterone enhances the occurrence and the severity of seizures. Conversely, kainic-acid-induced seizures decrease plasma testosterone. The higher plasma corticosterone levels found in these males suggest that kainic acid-induced seizures activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis which may induce alterations in plasma levels of male reproductive hormones.

Effects of age on behavioral and physiological responses to carbaryl in rats

Motor, sensory and thermoregulatory functions were examined in young (3 months) and mature (12 months) rats following PO administration of single low doses (10 and 50 mg/kg) of carbaryl, a carbamate insecticide, and these effects were related to blood cholinesterase activity. Carbaryl 50 mg/kg decreased the frequency of ambulation in the open-field arena within 30 min while it enhanced the duration of haloperidol-induced catalepsy in both young and mature rats. Administration of carbaryl also resulted in an increased nociceptive threshold to thermic stimuli mainly in mature rats. An age-related reduction in body temperature was observed at 30, 60 and 90 min after injection. Activity of blood cholinesterase was reduced in young and mature rats at 30 and 60 min following carbaryl exposure. These results indicate that carbaryl can induce an age-related impairment on some behavioral and autonomic functions in rats correlated to the inhibition of cholinesterase activity.

Age-related differences in the coordination disturbance and anticonvulsant effect of oxazepam in mice

The effects of oxazepam on coordination and maximal seizure were compared between young (6-month-old) and old (24-month-old) BDF1 mice by using a rotorod test and a pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced seizure test, respectively. The apparent sensitivity to oxazepam's anticonvulsant effect, as examined by its effect on PTZ-induced maximal seizure, was increased in old animals of both sexes in comparison to young ones. The effect of oxazepam on coordination was also significantly greater in old male mice as compared with the young. The results of the present study, together with our past observations on other anticonvulsants such as phenytoin and phenobarbital, strongly suggest that the anticonvulsant effect, as well as the effect on coordination, in mice generally increases with age.

Age-dependent changes in brain glycine concentration and strychnine-induced seizures in the rat

Glycine levels and receptor binding were measured in the medulla and spinal cord of 2-month, 10-month, and 24-month-old Fischer 344 rats. The behavioral response to the administration of the glycine antagonist, strychnine, was also evaluated in 2- and 24-month-old animals to investigate the relevance of these parameters to the susceptibility to seizures. Significant reductions in glycine in both the spinal cord and medulla occurred from 2 to 24 months of age. The glycine precursors, serine and threonine, were decreased only in the spinal cord. [3H]Strychnine binding was also decreased by 38% and 34% in the medulla and spinal cord, respectively, of 24-month-old rats compared to 2-month-olds. [3H]GABA binding was similarly reduced while no age-related changes in [3H]diazepam binding in the spinal cord were detected. Comparison of 2- and 24-month-old animals after systemic injection of 1.75 mg/kg strychnine showed that senescent animals have a higher incidence of seizures and mortality compared to young animals. Decreases in glycinergic neurotransmission may lower strychnine seizure threshold in the aged animal.

The neurotoxicity of phenobarbital and its effect in preventing pentylenetetrazole-induced maximal seizure in aging mice

The effects of age on the neurotoxicity of phenobarbital and its anticonvulsant effect were examined in female BDF1 mice of different ages by means of a rotorod test and the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced maximal seizure, respectively. The minimal neurotoxic concentrations (MTCs) of phenobarbital in both plasma and brain evaluated by a rotorod test were 50% lower (p less than 0.05) in old (24-months-old) mice compared with the respective values in young (6-months-old) mice, while 12-months values were the highest of the three groups. Mice given some dosages of phenobarbital, particularly old (24-months-old) mice, died within the 15-min observation period after an i.p. injection of PTZ (150 mg/kg) without demonstrating a hindlimb extensor component (HLE) of maximal seizure. When these animals were classified as responders with regard to the anticonvulsant effect of phenobarbital, the minimal effective concentrations (MECs) in plasma and brain required for abolishing the PTZ-induced maximal seizure in old mice were only 10-20% those of young mice. Present results coupled with our past studies using electroshock seizure suggest that both the neurotoxicity and the efficacy of phenobarbital increase with age in mice.

Age-dependent decrease in the lethal threshold of pentylenetetrazole in mice

We previously reported that the minimal effective concentrations in plasma and brain for inducing the maximal seizure after intraperitoneal injection of pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) significantly increased with age in mice. We also observed that some old mice died without the maximal seizure during the observation period of 15 min. To examine how the lethal dose changes with age in the mouse, in the present study we employed a continuous intravenous infusion of PTZ that enabled us to control the dose, either stopping the infusion after the maximal seizure or continuing it until the lethal dose was reached. This study has demonstrated that the lethal threshold of PTZ in the oldest mice (27 months for males and 30 months for females) was significantly lower than that for the respective younger groups. We conclude that our observation in old mice of death occurring before the appearance of maximal seizure is due to a decrease in the lethal threshold combined with an increase in the threshold for maximal seizure.

Increasing anticonvulsant effect of AD-810 (zonisamide) in aging BDF1 mice

The anticonvulsant efficacy of a newly developed anticonvulsant, AD-810 (zonisamide, 3-sulfamoylmethyl-1,2-benzisoxazole) was examined in relation to mouse age in three different age groups of female BDF1 mice (7-, 25- and 29-month-old). The minimal effective concentration (MEC) of AD-810 in both plasma and brain for abolishing the electroshock-induced maximal seizure steadily decreased with age, the 25- and 29-month values being 50 and 30% of respective 7-month values. The observation in the present study was almost identical to previous observations by the authors on phenytoin, phenobarbital and oxazepam. The present results support our previous contention that the dose and plasma concentration of anticonvulsants can (and probably should) be reduced in the elderly regardless of the drug. Since the anticonvulsant mechanism of AD-810 has been reported to differ from those of previously examined drugs (phenobarbital and oxazepam), the results also suggest that the apparent increase in the pharmacological effect of these anticonvulsants may be due to old animals' lowered response capability for seizures rather than a specific age effect on the pharmacological reaction sites for individual anticonvulsants.

The effect of age on the adaptation of the brain to the anticonvulsant effect of phenobarbital in mice

The anticonvulsant effect of phenobarbital was examined in young (6 month old) and old (24 month old) BDF1 female mice consisting of three groups each (one control and two chronically dosed phenobarbital groups), using the abolition of the tonic hindlimb extensor component of maximal electroshock seizure as the index. The minimal effective concentrations (MEC) of phenobarbital in plasma and brain in old control mice that were given a vehicle (tragacanth) for one week were significantly lower in comparison to the respective values in young adult control mice with the same treatment, confirming our previous findings. In young mice chronically treated with phenobarbital for one week (20 mg/kg daily for two days followed by daily dose of 50 mg/kg for 5 days), the MECs in both plasma and brain were significantly higher compared with respective control values. The 3 week treatment also produced an increase in MEc comparable to the one-week treatment. The same one-week treatment with phenobarbital in old mice similarly caused significantly higher plasma and brain MEC values but 3-week-treatment values were not significantly different from corresponding control values. It is concluded that the development of brain adaptation to phenobarbital is almost equal for young and old mice, so that the reduction in MEC with age indicates the need for lowered dosages for the aged, even when the age effect on brain adaptation developed to chronic dosing is taken into consideration.

Age-dependent increase in the threshold for pentylenetetrazole induced maximal seizure in mice

The thresholds for inducing the maximal seizure by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) were compared for BDF1 mice of both sexes with varying ages after intraperitoneal administration of various doses of PTZ. The minimal effective PTZ concentrations (MECs) in the brain for inducing the maximal seizure were significantly higher in 24-month or older mice than in 6-month-old animals of both sexes. Some mice of 30 months did not demonstrate the maximal seizure but died within the 15-min observation period, a phenomenon never observed in mice of 24 months or younger. The relationship between plasma and brain concentrations of PTZ changed little during aging. It was concluded that the brain becomes less sensitive to PTZ with age in regard to its convulsant activity, as was previously shown for electroshock by the authors. This observation, coupled with our earlier observations on anticonvulsants, appears to support the classical hypothesis that age has a dual effect on drug sensitivity i.e. a decrease for stimulants but an increase for sedative (or depressant) drugs.

Increased anticonvulsant effect of phenobarbital with age in mice--a possible pharmacological index for brain aging

We have recently reported that the anticonvulsant effect of phenytoin increases with age in mice (1). Since some of the mechanisms of anticonvulsant action of phenytoin and phenobarbital may be different, the present study sought to determine whether a similar increase with age in the anticonvulsant effect of phenobarbital could also be observed. The anticonvulsant effect of phenobarbital was examined in BDF1 female mice of different ages (6, 12, 24 and 30 months old) using the abolition of the tonic hindlimb extensor component of maximal electro-shock seizure as the index. The minimal effective concentration (MEC) values of phenobarbital in plasma and brain were significantly lower in aged (24 and 30 month old) mice compared with the respective values in the youngest animal group (6 month old). Series using nearly two-fold different intensities of electroshock (30 and 55 mA) showed almost identical MEC values in 24 month-old mice. It was concluded that the brain of aged mice is more sensitive to phenobarbital, as it is to phenytoin.