Age‐dependent consequences of seizures: Relationship to seizure frequency, brain damage, and circuitry reorganization

Abstract

Seizures in the developing brain pose a challenge to the clinician. In addition to the acute effects of the seizure, there are questions regarding the impact of severe or recurrent seizures on the developing brain. Whether provoked seizures cause brain damage, synaptic reorganization, or epilepsy is of paramount importance to patients and physicians. Such questions are especially relevant in the decision to treat or not treat febrile seizures, a common occurrence in childhood. These clinical questions have been addressed using clinical and animal research. The largest prospective studies do not find a causal connection between febrile seizures and later temporal lobe epilepsy. The immature brain seems relatively resistant to the seizure-induced neuronal loss and new synapse formation seen in the mature brain. Laboratory investigations using a developmental rat model corresponding to human febrile seizures find that even though structural changes do not result from hyperthermic seizures, synaptic function may be chronically altered. The increased understanding of the cellular and synaptic mechanisms of seizure-induced damage may benefit patients and clinicians in the form of improved therapies to attenuate damage and changes induced by seizures and to prevent the development of epilepsy.

Disruption of Cortical Development as a Consequence of Repetitive Pilocarpine‐induced Status Epilepticus in Rats

“…Nevertheless, several studies have shown that the immature brain is resistant to seizure-induced hippocampal neuronal cell loss (9-12) and synaptic reorganization (11,13,14). Despite hippocampal resistance to neuronal Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. A. V. Silva at Lab Neurologia Experimental UNIFESP-EPM, Rua Botucatú, 862, CEP 04023-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.…”

Disruption of Cortical Development as a Consequence of Repetitive Pilocarpine‐induced Status Epilepticus in Rats

“…Nevertheless, several studies have shown that the immature brain is resistant to seizure-induced hippocampal neuronal cell loss (9-12) and synaptic reorganization (11,13,14). Despite hippocampal resistance to neuronal Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. A. V. Silva at Lab Neurologia Experimental UNIFESP-EPM, Rua Botucatú, 862, CEP 04023-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.…”

Fyn-tau Ablation Modifies PTZ-Induced Seizures and Post-seizure Hallmarks of Early Epileptogenesis

“…Neurodegeneration is one of the most common features of many epilepsies, contributing to the hyperexcitable neuronal network (Lado et al, 2000;Naegele, 2007). The role of Fyn-tau interaction in NMDAR-mediated neurodegeneration has been known for some time (Bhaskar et al, 2005;Ittner et al, 2010;Ittner and Götz, 2011).…”

Effects of Propofol on Epileptiform Activity and Hippocampal Morphology in Febrile Convulsions and Pilocarpine Induced Seizures

“…Currently, answers to important questions the spectrum of changes in the neuronal network during epileptogenesis is a result of different etiologies are sought [23]. The high incidence of epilepsy development in humansdue to the impact of the seizures in the immature brain-results in the fact that while the brain completes its normal development, the damage caused by epilepsy maintains epileptogenesis [24].…”

Disruption of Cortical Development as a Consequence of Repetitive Pilocarpine‐induced Status Epilepticus in Rats

“…Nevertheless, several studies have shown that the immature brain is resistant to seizure-induced hippocampal neuronal cell loss (9-12) and synaptic reorganization (11,13,14). Despite hippocampal resistance to neuronal Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. A. V. Silva at Lab Neurologia Experimental UNIFESP-EPM, Rua Botucatú, 862, CEP 04023-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.…”

Fyn-tau Ablation Modifies PTZ-Induced Seizures and Post-seizure Hallmarks of Early Epileptogenesis

“…Neurodegeneration is one of the most common features of many epilepsies, contributing to the hyperexcitable neuronal network (Lado et al, 2000;Naegele, 2007). The role of Fyn-tau interaction in NMDAR-mediated neurodegeneration has been known for some time (Bhaskar et al, 2005;Ittner et al, 2010;Ittner and Götz, 2011).…”

Effects of Propofol on Epileptiform Activity and Hippocampal Morphology in Febrile Convulsions and Pilocarpine Induced Seizures

“…Currently, answers to important questions the spectrum of changes in the neuronal network during epileptogenesis is a result of different etiologies are sought [23]. The high incidence of epilepsy development in humansdue to the impact of the seizures in the immature brain-results in the fact that while the brain completes its normal development, the damage caused by epilepsy maintains epileptogenesis [24].…”

Disruption of Cortical Development as a Consequence of Repetitive Pilocarpine‐induced Status Epilepticus in Rats

“…Nevertheless, several studies have shown that the immature brain is resistant to seizure-induced hippocampal neuronal cell loss (9-12) and synaptic reorganization (11,13,14). Despite hippocampal resistance to neuronal Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. A. V. Silva at Lab Neurologia Experimental UNIFESP-EPM, Rua Botucatú, 862, CEP 04023-900 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.…”

Fyn-tau Ablation Modifies PTZ-Induced Seizures and Post-seizure Hallmarks of Early Epileptogenesis

“…Neurodegeneration is one of the most common features of many epilepsies, contributing to the hyperexcitable neuronal network (Lado et al, 2000;Naegele, 2007). The role of Fyn-tau interaction in NMDAR-mediated neurodegeneration has been known for some time (Bhaskar et al, 2005;Ittner et al, 2010;Ittner and Götz, 2011).…”

Effects of Propofol on Epileptiform Activity and Hippocampal Morphology in Febrile Convulsions and Pilocarpine Induced Seizures

“…Currently, answers to important questions the spectrum of changes in the neuronal network during epileptogenesis is a result of different etiologies are sought [23]. The high incidence of epilepsy development in humansdue to the impact of the seizures in the immature brain-results in the fact that while the brain completes its normal development, the damage caused by epilepsy maintains epileptogenesis [24].…”