Hippocampal atrophy and abnormal brain development following a prolonged hyperthermic seizure in the immature rat with a focal neocortical lesion

In rats subjected to a focal cortical lesion soon after birth, hyperthermia at P10 induces a prolonged epileptic seizure, often followed by temporal lobe epilepsy in the adult. To determine whether brain damage and notably hippocampal atrophy occur early on in this model, whole brain as well as hemispheric, cortical, subcortical and hippocampal volumes was measured in non-lesioned and lesioned rat pups, 2 days (P12) and 12 days (P22) after the hyperthermic seizure. All pups with a cortical lesion showed reductions in whole brain and in ipsilateral hemispheric, cortical and hippocampal volumes at P12, which persisted at P22 in pups having also sustained a prolonged hyperthermic seizure at P10. Limiting the duration of the seizure with Diazepam prevented the hippocampal atrophy. Thus, a prolonged hyperthermic seizure in immature brain with a subtle neocortical lesion impairs normal brain development, and the duration of the seizure appears to be a key factor in generating hippocampal atrophy.