Prophylactic treatment with melatonin after status epilepticus: Effects on epileptogenesis, neuronal damage, and behavioral changes in a kainate model of temporal lobe epilepsy

Strain-dependent effects of long-term treatment with melatonin on kainic acid-induced status epilepticus, oxidative stress and the expression of heat shock proteins

“…There are emerging experimental and clinical studies considering the close relationship between hypertension and epilepsy (Devinsky, 2004;Hilz et al, 2002;Tomson et al, 1998). However, melatonin failed to suppress the development of KA-induced SE both in Wistar rats and SHRs, with results that agree with our previous data demonstrating that the long-term melatonin treatment at a dose of 10 mg/kg after KA-induced SE decreased the latency for onset of the first spontaneous recurrent seizure and attenuated the seizure frequency during the treatment period without preventing the development of chronic epileptic state in Wistar rats and SHRs (Tchekalarova et al, 2013). Although a number of experimental data indicate that acute melatonin injection exerts an anticonvulsant effect in different seizure tests (Banach et al, 2011;de Lima and Soares, 2005), this hormone was suggested only for add-on therapy in epileptic patients with insomnia (Rufo-Campos, 2002).…”

“…In another experimental protocol, the long-term treatment with melatonin at a dose of 10 mg/kg for 60 days, starting 3 h after the beginning of SE, exerted a more efficient attenuation of spontaneous recurrent seizures in SHRs than in Wistar rats (Tchekalarova et al, 2013). We can suggest that the higher efficacy of melatonin Table 1).…”

“…Melatonin posses a low toxicity and may be used for seizure control in conjunction with anti-seizure medications (RufoCampos, 2002). Melatonin has been also characterized as a potent anticonvulsant in a number of seizure models in rodents, including acute seizure tests (Albertson et al, 1986;Yamamoto and Tang, 1996;Lapin et al, 1998;Borowicz et al, 1999) and models of epilepsy (Albertson et al, 1986;Mevissen and Ebert, 1998;Tchekalarova et al, 2013). It has been shown to exert neuroprotective effects against neuronal damage in animal models of neurotoxicity, i.e.…”

An insight into the scientific background and future perspectives for the potential uses of melatonin

“…Melatonin reduced the neuronal damage in the CA1 area of the hippocampus and piriform cortex and recovered the decrease of hippocampal 5-HT level in rats with epilepsy. Tchekalarova et al concluded that long-term melatonin treatment after SE did not suppress the development of epileptogenesis but have a potential in reducing some of the deleterious alterations that develop during the chronic epileptic state in a diurnal phase-dependent mode [107]. In 2013, a preclinical study reported that melatonin significantly potentiated the anticonvulsant efficacy of phenobarbital, but did not exert anticonvulsant effects on its own.…”

Finding a model for comorbidity between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and epilepsy

“…Strain-dependent difference in brain neutransmission involved in control of seizure susceptibility has been suggested to underlie particular responses of these strains [17] . Recently, our studies have revealed that SHRs might be also explored as a relevant model of comorbidity between ADHD and epilepsy [18][19][20] . We have reported that SHRs are characterized with higher frequency of spontaneous motor seizures during the chronic epileptic phase compared to normotensive Wistar rats in KA model of TLE [19,20] .…”