Vascular topology is acutely impacted by experimental febrile status epilepticus

Abstract

Febrile status epilepticus (FSE) is an important risk factor for temporal lobe epilepsy and early identification is vital. In a rat model of FSE, we identified an acute novel MRI signal in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) at 2 hours post FSE that predicted epilepsy in adulthood. This signal remains incompletely understood and hypothesized that it might derive from changes to vascular topology. Experimental FSE was induced in rat pups and compared to normothermic littermate controls. We examined cerebral vascular topology at 2 hours, using a novel vessel painting and analysis protocol. Blood vessel density of the cortical vasculature was significantly reduced in FSE rats, and this effect was lateralized, as reported for the MRI signal. The middle cerebral artery (MCA) exhibited abnormal topology in FSE pups but not in controls. In the BLA, significant vessel junction reductions and decreased vessel diameter were observed, together with a strong trend for reduced vessel length. In summary, FSE results in acute vascular topological changes in the cortex and BLA that may underlie the acute MRI signal that predicts progression to future epilepsy. The altered vasculature may be amenable to intervention treatments to potentially reduce the probability of progression to epilepsy following FSE.

Quantitative association of cerebral blood flow, relaxation times and proton density in young and middle-aged primary insomnia patients: A prospective study using three-dimensional arterial spin labeling and synthetic magnetic resonance imaging

“…An interesting aspect of our study is the negative correlation between increased CBF and decreased T2 value. These correlations imply a link between increased deoxyhemoglobin (increased oxygen consumption) leads to reduced T2 and increased CBF, similar to previously reported conjecture (Salehi et al, 2023). After 6 months of treatment, the T2 value of five PI patients also increased as the blood flow decreased.…”