| Background. Whether brief seizures cause hippocampal damage is not presently clear. Kindling is an animal model of epilepsy characterized by brief seizures. The previous studies on kindling and hippocampal cell loss have reported contradictory results.; Methods. Rats were amygdala-kindled to 30 stage 5 seizures. Hippocampal tissue from kindled and control subjects were compared for: (1) cell loss, by estimating cell numbers using the optical fractionator method of stereological counting; (2) neuro-degeneration, using fluorojade-B staining; and (3) apoptotic stress, by measuring Bax (pro-apoptotic) and Bcl-x L (anti-apoptotic) mRNA levels via in-situ hybridization.; Results. (1) No significant differences in total cell numbers were found. (2) No neuro-degeneration was evident. (3) Bax expression was significantly up-regulated, whereas BCI-xL expression was not.; Conclusions. Kindling to 30 stage 5 seizures does not cause significant cell loss or neurodegeneration. Increased Bax mRNA levels suggest apoptosis may be occurring. Possible explanations and implications are discussed. |
