Can seizures be forgotten? Rapamycin and isoflurane do not disrupt epileptogenesis in a mouse model of epilepsy

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dc.contributor.authorHowey, Carlos J.
dc.contributor.supervisorLuczak, Artur
dc.date.accessioned2025-02-11T18:44:42Z
dc.date.available2025-02-11T18:44:42Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.degree.levelMasters
dc.description.abstractEpilepsy is a neurological disorder, characterized by recurring seizures, that affects approximately 50 to 70 million people worldwide. Understanding how neurons generate abnormal electrical activity is central to the search for an effective treatment. It was hypothesized that the same biochemical processes that support normal synaptic plasticity may play a role in epileptogenesis. To explore this, a kindling model of epilepsy was used. Seizures were induced in mice through electrical stimulation of the amygdala. After the mice displayed seizures of intermediate intensity, they received a treatment of rapamycin (40 kg/mg, i.p.), a compound implicated in affecting synaptic plasticity. Following rapamycin treatment, the mice were also treated with isoflurane (2.5 % in oxygen), an anesthetic that reduces neuronal activity. It was found that rapamycin and isoflurane did not reduce seizures. It is possible that the treatments had no effect, since they had commenced after the animals displayed intermediate seizures; treating the animals at earlier stages could be more likely to disrupt the progression of seizures, however this question will be addressed in further studies. Following the treatments, the mice were then subjected to a Morris water maze task to test the effects of kindling on spatial memory. It was found that the mice with advanced seizures performed the task as well as the mice that were not kindled.
dc.embargoNo
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/6973
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherLethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Neuroscience
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Neuroscience
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Science
dc.relation.ispartofseriesThesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science)
dc.subjectSeizures
dc.subjectEpileptogenesis
dc.subjectKindling model
dc.subjectSpatial memory
dc.subjectEpilepsy in mice
dc.subject.lcshEpilepsy--Animal models
dc.subject.lcshEpilepsy in animals
dc.subject.lcshRapamycin
dc.subject.lcshIsoflurane
dc.subject.lcshKindling (Neurology)
dc.subject.lcshDissertations, Academic
dc.titleCan seizures be forgotten? Rapamycin and isoflurane do not disrupt epileptogenesis in a mouse model of epilepsy
dc.typeThesis
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