Hippocampal volume in childhood seizures

Many children with hippocampal sclerosis underwent surgery for treatment. Early childhood convulsion occurs in 2 to 4% of population and its prognosis is good in majority of cases. It seems that hippocampal anomalies are common in patients with neocortical epilepsies. The theory of hippocampal sclerosis association with temporal lobe epilepsy has been proposed 100 years ago. Recent studies demonstrated that there was a correlation between memory impairments and prolonged febrile convulsion [PFC], which might be a result of hippocampal injury. Transient hippocampus swelling might happen in complicated early childhood epilepsy or status epilepticus and result in hippocampal sclerosis

Effects of valerian consumption during pregnancy on cortical volume and the levels of zinc and copper in the brain tissue of mouse fetus / 中西医结合学报

The aim of the present study was to determine the effects of valerian (Valeriana officinalis) consumption in pregnancy on cortical volume and the levels of zinc and copper, two essential elements that affect brain development and function, in the brain tissues of mouse fetuses.

Morphometrical study of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule positive cells in rat pups hippocampus following induction of seizure during pregnancy

The polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule [PSA-NCAM] is expressed in developing brain. Fetal brain damage is caused by different conditions such as seizure and hypoxia. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of maternal seizures on the number of PSA-NCAM positive cells in pup's hippocampus. Female Wistar rats were divided into four groups: [a] kindled rats which received PTZ [40 mg/kg, i.p.] during pregnancy from embryonic day 14-19 [E14-E19] every 48 h, [b] kindled rats which did not receive PTZ during pregnancy, [c] non-kindle, pregnant rats which received PTZ injection [40 mg/kg, i.p.] during pregnancy from E14 to E19 every 48 h, and [d] non-kindle, pregnant rats which received injection with an equal volume of normal saline as sham controls. At postnatal day 14 [PD[14]], rat pups were perfused, and their brain were fixed, embedded and coronal sections stained by immunohistochemistry method. The number of PSA-NCAM positive cells per unit area in the pup's hippocampus was counted. The number of PSA-NCAM positive cells in the CA1, CA3, and DG fields of pup's hippocampus, which was obtained from mothers who experienced PTZ injection during pregnancy, was decreased approximately 2.6 [P = 0.001], 2 [P = 0.001], and 2.1 [P = 0.001] times compared with non-PTZ treated maternal groups, respectively. Our study showed that maternal seizures reduced the number of neurons and also PSA-NCAM positive cells per unit area in the offspring hippocampus that it may cause impairment in hippocampal functions

histological comparison of myelinated nerve fibers between the external and extreme capsules in human brain

To recognize the myelinated nerve fibers of the external and extreme capsules in human brain. 10 adult and normal brains [20 hemispheres] from both sexes were studied using 15 mm serial secions in all three cardinal planes after fixation and processing. These sections were stained by Kluver. Barrera and Heidenhin. Woelcke methods. Some fibers from different parts of the cortex through corona radiata entered the dorsal border of the external capsule. These fibers moved ventraly and ventrocaudaly toward the ventral border of the external capsule, and most of them entered the cerebral peduncles trans sub or retrolenticularly. Some, fibers passed through dorsal part of putamen and connected the external capsule with posterior limb of the internal capsule. Some fibers passed between rostrum of corpus callosum and venteral part of the external capsule. Some fibers traced from the external capsule to posterior bundle of the anterior commissure; some of them entered the commissure but others terminated in nucleus basalis [Meynert] neurons. Some fibers passed through rostral part of the external and extreme capsules. Most of the fibers of the extreme capsule interconnected the temporal and frontoparietal operculi with the insular gyri, or with each other. A group of the extreme capsule fibers connected the adjacent insular gyri with each other. Some fibers exchanged between the extreme capsule and the claustrum. There were fibers which went between the external and extreme capsules through the dorsal claustrum. It is concluded that the external capsule contains all three groups of fibers, but it is mainly projectional; on the other hand, the extreme capsule is mainly associational. Thus, in our opinion, these two capsules should be classified in different groups