Ultrasound stimulation inhibits recurrent seizures and improves behavioral outcome in an experimental model of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.
Current therapies for epilepsy consist mostly of pharmacological agents or invasive surgery. Recently, ultrasound (US) stimulation has been considered a promising tool for the noninvasive treatment of brain diseases, including epilepsy. However, in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), a common form of epilepsy, neurophysiological and functional outcomes following US stimulation are not well defined. To address this, we developed a paradigm of transcranial pulsed US stimulation to efficiently suppress seizure activity in the initial/acute period in a kainate (KA)-induced mouse model of mesial TLE. Pulsed US stimulation inhibited acute seizure activity and either delayed the onset of or suppressed status epilepticus (SE). Kainate-treated mice that had received US stimulation in the initial period exhibited fewer spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRSs) and improved performance in behavioral tasks assessing sociability and depression in the chronic period of epilepsy. Our results demonstrate that US stimulation in the acute period of epilepsy can inhibit SRSs and improve behavioral outcomes in a mouse model of mesial TLE. The present study suggests that noninvasive transcranial pulsed US stimulation may be feasible as an adjuvant therapy in patients with epilepsy. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled "Status Epilepticus".
Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Hilola
H
Hakimova
Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sangwoo
S
Kim
Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kon
K
Chu
Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sang Kun
SK
Lee
Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: bs.jeong@kaist.ac.kr.
Bumseok
B
Jeong
Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea; Department of Neurology, Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), Seoul, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: clark.jeon@gmail.com.
Daejong
D
Jeon
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D007608:Kainic Acid; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D012919:Social Behavior; D013226:Status Epilepticus / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional
D007608:Kainic Acid
Behavioral outcome; Electroencephalography; Recurrent seizure; Status epilepticus; Temporal lobe epilepsy; Ultrasound stimulation