Antiepileptogenic effects of deep-brain stimulation in anterior nucleus of thalamus in the pentylenetetrazol-induced kindling model

Abstract

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting approximately 70 million people worldwide. The vast majority of therapeutic interventions for epilepsy are related to the administration of antiepileptic drugs, but about 30% of the patients develop the pharmacoresistant form of the pathology. Among the possible non-drug therapeutic alternatives, there is deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT). The present project aims to understand the interaction between ANT-DBS and the epileptogenic process, using an animal model of kindling, induced by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). There will be 18 applications of PTZ (30 mg/kg, ip) in 3 groups of animals, with only one of them receiving electrical stimulation in ANT. At the end of the applications, the animals will be subjected to behavioral tests and will receive a challenging application, seeking to observe the possible long-term effects of ANT-DBS promoting the reduction of seizure severity. (AU)