Advanced understanding in mechanisms of epilepsy and potential new treatment strategies

Over the last 25 years, neurobiologists have begun to unravel the cellular mechanisms that underlie epileptiform activity. Such investigations have two main objectives: [1] to develop new methods for treating, [curing], or preventing epilepsy; and [2] to learn more about the normal functioning of the human brain, at the cellular/molecular and neurological/psychological levels by analyzing abnormal brain functioning. The electroencephalogram [EF.G] spike is a marker for the hyperexcitable cortex and arises in or near an area with a high epileptogenic potential. The depolarizing shift [DS] that underlies the interictal discharge [ID] appears to be generated by a combination of excitatory synaptic currents and intrinsic voltage-dependent membrane currents. The hyperpolarization that follows the DS [post-DS-1 IT] hunts ID duration, determines ID frequency, and prevents ID deterioration into seizures. The disappearance of the post-DS I IP in some models is related to the onset of seizures and the spread of epileptiform activity. During the transition to seizures, the usually self-limited ID spreads in time and anatomical space. Several processes may intervene in the pathophysiolpgical dysfunction. These include enhancing GABA-mediated inhibition, dampening NMDA-mediated excitability, interfering with specific Ca[2+] currents in central neurons, and perhaps stimulating [gating] pathways

Anticonvulsant activity of Alangium salvifolium stem bark

The anticonvulsant activity of methanolic extract of Alangium salvifolium stem barks in doses 100, 200, 400, 500 mg/kg in mice was assessed using maximum electroshock seizure [MES] test and pentylenetetrazol [PTZ]-induced convulsion in albino mice. The lithium pilocarpine model of status epilepticus was also used to assess the anti-convulsant activity in rats. The methanolic extract of Alangium salvifolium stem bark did not reduce the duration of tonic hindleg extention in the MES test even in the dose of 500 mg/kg. However, this extract significantly and dose dependently delayed the onset of clonis convulsions induced by pentyletetrazol. The dose of 100 mg/kg afforded protection to all animals. The methanolic extract of Alangium salvifolium stem bark inhibited the PTZ and lithium pilocarpine-induced convulsions but MES induced convulsions condition remained unchanged