ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Women with epilepsy often suffer from weight gain. A similar phenomenon is seen in female rats that are kindled from the amygdala. Interestingly, it has been reported that kindling of the left amygdala causes more weight gain than kindling of the right amygdala. The present study was designed to confirm and extend that effect. METHODS: Female Wistar rats were kindled from the left or right basolateral amygdala to a criterion of 40 stage 5 seizures. Control subjects were handled but not stimulated. Subjects were weighed weekly for the duration of the study. Twenty-four hours following the last kindled seizure, kindled subjects and their yoked controls were sacrificed and their brains and serum were extracted. RESULTS: Kindled subjects weighed significantly more than controls at the end of the kindling procedure and had significantly higher serum levels of leptin. No laterality effects were seen in either weight gain or leptin levels, however. CONCLUSION: Amygdala kindling increases weight gain and serum leptin levels in rats, but in the present study no laterality effects were seen.
Subject(s)
Amygdala/physiology , Functional Laterality/physiology , Kindling, Neurologic/physiology , Weight Gain/physiology , Amygdala/metabolism , Analysis of Variance , Animals , Body Weight/physiology , Disease Progression , Electric Stimulation , Electrodes, Implanted , Estrous Cycle/metabolism , Estrous Cycle/physiology , Female , Kindling, Neurologic/metabolism , Leptin/blood , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Seizures/metabolism , Seizures/physiopathologyABSTRACT
PURPOSE: Women with epilepsy often have comorbid reproductive dysfunction. Using the amygdala kindling model in rats, the present study examined the effects of seizures of limbic origin on the reproductive system. METHODS: Female Wistar rats were kindled from the left or right basolateral amygdala to a criterion of 40 stage V seizures. Sham-kindled subjects were handled but not stimulated. Vaginal cytology was assessed daily for the duration of the study. Twenty-four hours following the last kindled seizure, kindled subjects and their yoked controls were sacrificed and their brains and serum were extracted. RESULTS: Kindled subjects displayed significantly more abnormal estrous cycle days and significantly elevated levels of estradiol as compared to controls. There was, however, no total suppression of cycling. No laterality effects were seen for estrous cycle abnormalities. DISCUSSION: Seizures of limbic origin cause changes in estrous cycling. Right and left kindling seem to have a similar effect. These findings highlight the need for clinicians to monitor reproductive issues among individuals with epilepsy.
