Hypothermia mitigates neurochemical alterations in rat's cerebral cortex during status epilepticus induced by pilocarpine.

Status epilepticus (SE) is a prolonged seizure activity associated with mortality and morbidity. SE is characterized by changes in neurotransmitter systems and oxidative stress that facilitate cellular damage. These alterations represent the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of seizure activity and co-existing morbidity. In the present study, amino acid levels (glutamine, glutamate, GABA, aspartate, glycine and taurine) and oxidative stress parameters malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and nitric oxide NO) were determined in the cerebral cortex during SE induced by pilocarpine in rats. The study has also evaluated the effects of hypothermia, as a physical non-invasive tool, on neurotransmitters and oxidative stress alterations. The results obtained revealed that there are significant increases in glutamate, GABA, glycine and taurine and NO in the cortex of pilocarpinzed rats. Hypothermia pretreatment mitigated most of the alterations induced by pilocarpine and significantly decreased GABA concentration. These findings emphasize the involvement of extrahippocampal amino acid neurotransmitters in pilocarpine-induced SE and the ameliorative role played by hypothermia.