Influence of ligustrazine on neuronal structure in brain of epileptic rats

Xiaoqin ZHU; Yanfang ZHENG; Xingsan TANG; Shuisheng LEI

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Ligustrazine inhibits discharge of cerebral hippocampal neuron, penetrates blood-brain barrier effectively after absorbed in the body and is distributed extensively in cerebral cortex, brain stem, striate body, hippocampus, cerebellum and midbrain.

OBJECTIVE:

To probe into the influence of ligustrazine and its different concentrations after abdominal injection on cerebral cortical neural cell structure in epileptic rats induced by penicillin.

DESIGN:

Randomized control experiment.

SETTING:

Physiological Department of Xianning Medical College.MATERIALS The experiment was performed in Anatomy Department of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology from September 2004 to March 2005. Forty healthy SD rats of clean grade were employed, of either sex, mass weighted varied from 200 to 250 g.They were randomized into 5 groups, named operation control, penicillininduced epilepsy group and ligustrazine groups of 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg, 8 rats in each group.

METHODS:

After anesthetized, the cranium was opened to expose cerebral cortical record region. BL-410 biofunctional experimental system was used to record brain electricity bilaterally and epileptic discharge of cerebral cortex in penicillin-induced epilepsy group and ligustrazine groups of 10 mg/kg,20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg. In the control, 1 hour after anesthesia and craniotomy, cerebrum was collected. In penicillin-induced epilepsy group, 1 hour after induction, cerebrum was collected. In ligustrazine groups of 10 mg/kg,20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg, after penicillin-induced epileptic discharge was stable, ligustrazine of 10 mg/kg, 20 mg/kg and 40 mg/kg was injected abdominally successively, and cerebrum was collected when the most remarkable inhibition was achieved. Brain tissue section was prepared separately, with HE staining, the observation was done under optic microscope.MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

Structure changes in cerebral cortical neural cells in rats of each group.In the control, the morphological structure of cerebral cortical neural cell alternations on cerebral cortical neural cell structure, karyopykosis, plasmarrhexis and vacuolar structure, but there was no Nissel bodies in cytomarrhexis, vacuolar structure and decreased Nissel bodies in cytoplasm with the control, there were decreased vacuoles in neural cell, increased cytoplasm and few Nissel bodies in cytoplasm and cell structural morpholcontrol, karyon was big, round and light stained; clot-like Nissel bodies were visible and cell structural morphology was in tendency to be normal.

CONCLUSION:

In penicillin-induced epilepsy, morphological structure of cerebral cortical neural cell in rats is abnormal. Tetramethylpyrazine of various dosages may improve at different degrees morphological structure of cerebral cortical neural cell, especially significantly at high dosage, by which, its inhibition on epileptic discharge in rats is achieved.