Berberine ameliorates intrahippocampal kainate-induced status epilepticus and consequent epileptogenic process. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Berberine ameliorates intrahippocampal kainate-induced status epilepticus and consequent epileptogenic process in the rat: Underlying mechanisms.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2017 Jan 3 ;87:200-208. Epub 2017 Jan 3. PMID: 28061403
Reza Sedaghat
Status epilepticus (SE) is a life-threatening neurologic condition, instigating epileptogenesis to transform normal brain to an epileptic condition. SE is followed by spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS) and final development of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) that is resistant to treatment. Neuroprotective strategies are increasingly put forward as a promising therapy to prevent and/or manage epileptic conditions. In this study, we investigated whether berberis alkaloid, i.e. berberine (BBR), could ameliorate intrahippocampal kainate-induced SE and its consequent epileptogenic process and to explore some underlying mechanisms. BBR was daily administered at doses of 25 or 50mg/kg. Results showed that BBR treatment of kainate-microinjected rats at a dose of 50mg/kg lowered the incidence of SE and SRS. It also significantly restored hippocampal level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2), activity of catalase and caspase 3, nuclear factor-