title: Hippocampal quinolinic acid concentrations in epileptogenesis in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the changes of hippocampal quinolinic acid (QA) concentrations during acute and chronic seizures induced by ip injection of kainic acid (KA, 12 mg kg-1) in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  The extraction and measurement of QA in the hippocampus were performed using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  When acute seizures were fully established 3 h after KA injection, no significant changes of hippocampal QA were found. During chronic seizures observed on d 30 after KA injection, there was even a 55 +/- 8% significant decrease. When neither acute nor chronic seizures were detectable but astroglial proliferation in the hippocampus and secondary neuronal degeneration in extrahippocampal regions became gradually prominent 2 d and 7 d after KA injection, there were 56 +/- 13% and 156 +/- 13% dramatic increases of hippocampal QA concentrations, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increase of hippocampal QA hardly plays any key role in the initiation of KA-induced seizures but may contribute to astroglial proliferation and neuronal degeneration by activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Kuang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D007608:Kainic Acid; D008297:Male; D011805:Quinolinic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D011805:Quinolinic Acids; D007608:Kainic Acid