The Pilocarpine Model of Chronic Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Rats

Objective:To characterize the acute and chronic behavioral and histologic effects of sustained seizures induced by pilocarpine in rats. Methods:After status epilepticus, the surviving animals were continuously monitored during 24 h for 120 days,using a video system, then we examined the morphology of the brains by light microscopy. Results:First spontaneous recurrent seizures accurred between 4 and 42 days after status epilepticus. The mean “seizure silent period” lasted for(14.5±3.6)days. During the chronic phase, spontaneous recurrent seizures were observed 2~4 times per animal per week, and the structural damage of the brain distributed mainly in the temporal lobe. Conclusion:structural brain damage promoted by pilocarpine induced status epilepticus may underlie spontaneous recurrent seizures, and such mechanisms may be involved in the etiology of some forms of epilepsy in humans.