Conference 2021 Poster Presentation
Project title
Ameliorating effect of ketogenic diet on experimentally-induced status epilepticus in rat hippocampus
Authors and Affiliations
Mai A. Abdel Samad1, Nagwa I. Shehata1, Nermin A. Sadik1, Amira A. Shaheen1
1. Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Abstract
Background
Ketogenic diet (KD) has been used for almost a century to treat drug-resistant epilepsy especially in children. However, the exact mechanism is not fully understood. Ketosis is speculated to play a beneficial role in suppressing epileptic seizures. Lithium-pilocarpine model of status epilepticus (SE) is known to reproduce most of the neuropathological features of human temporal lobe epilepsy. The aim was to evaluate the prophylactic effects of KD in SE.
Methods
Adult female rats were divided into 4 groups. Groups I and II received standard and ketogenic diets for 3 weeks, respectively. Groups III and IV received standard and ketogenic diets for 3 weeks, respectively then injected with lithium chloride (127mg/kg, i.p.) followed by pilocarpine HCl (10mg/kg, i.p.) 18-24 hours later, repeatedly, till induction of SE. Rats were then euthanized to measure the hippocampal contents of neurotransmitters (GABA and glutamate), ATP, ADP, adenosine, Na,K-ATPase, malondialdehyde and total antioxidant capacity. The activity of glutamic acid decarboxylase and the gene expression of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 were assessed. Brain sections were stained by H&E to evaluate the neuronal damage and the immunoreactivity of iNOS, TNFα, glial fibrillary acidic protein and synaptophysin was investigated.
Results
Our results showed that KD effectively increased adenine nucleotides, ameliorated oxidative stress, improved the balance between the excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, attenuated the inflammatory response and preserved the neuronal integrity in hippocampus.
Conclusions
These findings highlight the ameliorating effects of KD on some biochemical changes involved in SE.
