Statin inhibits kainic acid-induced seizure and associated inflammation and hippocampal cell death.
June 29th, 2008 | by admin |Statin inhibits kainic acid-induced seizure and associated inflammation and hippocampal cell death.
Statins are inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase that have been recently recognized as anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective drugs. Herein, we investigated anti-excitotoxic and anti-seizure effects of statins by using kainic acid (KA)-rat seizure model, an animal model for temporal lobe epilepsy and excitotoxic neurodegeneration. We observed that pre-treatment with Lipitor (atorvastatin) efficiently reduced KA-induced seizure activities, hippocampal neuron death, monocyte infiltration and proinflammatory gene expression. In addition, we also observed that lovastatin treatment attenuated KA- or glutamate-induced excitotoxicity of cultured hippocampal neurons. These observations suggest a potential for use of statin treatment in modulation of seizures and other neurological diseases associated with excitotoxicity.
Lee JK, Won JS, Singh AK, Singh I.
Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA; Institute of Natural Medicine, Hallym University, Chunchon, South Korea.