Lovastatin reduces neuronal cell death in hippocampal CA1 subfield after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus: preliminary results.
OBJECTIVE
To further characterize the capacity of lovastatin to prevent hippocampal neuronal loss after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE) METHOD: Adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: (A) control rats, received neither pilocarpine nor lovastatin (n=5); (B) control rats, received just lovastatin (n=5); (C) rats that received just pilocarpine (n=5); (D) rats that received pilocarpine and lovastatin (n=5). After pilocarpine injection (350 mg/kg, i.p.), only rats that displayed continuous, convulsive seizure activity were included in our study. Seizure activity was monitored behaviorally and terminated with an injection of diazepam (10 mg/kg, i.p.) after 4 h of convulsive SE. The rats treated with lovastatin received two doses of 20 mg/kg via an oesophagic probe immediately and 24 hours after SE induction. Seven days after pilocarpine-induced SE, all the animals were perfused and their brains were processed for histological analysis through Nissl method.


RESULTS
The cell counts in the Nissl-stained sections performed within the hippocampal formation showed a significant cell loss in rats that received pilocarpine and presented SE (CA1=26.8 +/- 13.67; CA3=38.1 +/- 7.2; hilus=43.8 +/- 3.95) when compared with control group animals (Group A: CA1=53.2 +/- 9.63; CA3=63.5 +/- 13.35; hilus=59.08 +/- 10.24; Group B: CA1=74.3 +/- 8.16; CA3=70.1 +/- 3.83; hilus=70.6 +/- 5.10). The average neuronal cell number of CA1 subfield of rats that present SE and received lovastatin (44.4 +/- 17.88) was statically significant increased when compared with animals that just presented SE.


CONCLUSIONS
Lovastatin exert a neuroprotective role in the attenuation of brain damage after SE.
Rangel
Pauline
P
Laboratório de Neurociências, Núcleo de Pesquisas Tecnológicas, Universidade de Mogi das Cruzes, Mogi das Cruzes, SP, Brazil.
Cysneiros
Roberta Monterazzo
RM
Arida
Ricardo Mario
RM
de Albuquerque
Marly
M
Colugnati
Diego Basile
DB
Scorza
Carla Alessandra
CA
Cavalheiro
Esper Abrão
EA
Scorza
Fulvio Alexandre
FA
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D016923:Cell Death; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D008148:Lovastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010862:Pilocarpine; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*
D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D010862:Pilocarpine; D008148:Lovastatin