Reduction of hippocampal-kindled seizure activity in rats by stereotactic radiosurgery.

Radiosurgery may provide an alternative therapy for intractable epilepsy by eliminating or modifying abnormally active pacemaker neurons in epileptic foci. In the present study, the effect of radiosurgery on rat hippocampal kindling was examined. Rats received daily hippocampal stimulus trains until they were fully kindled. They then underwent radiosurgery of the kindled focus, receiving a single-dose of 0-, 10-, or 40-Gy. The 40-Gy group demonstrated an acute decrease in seizure threshold (3-5 days). Three months after radiosurgery, the threshold for seizures increased and the duration of afterdischarges decreased in the 40-Gy radiosurgery group compared to controls. The changes to both seizure threshold and afterdischarge duration were not significant in the 10-Gy group. These data suggest that radiosurgery is an effective means of reducing the epileptogenic activity of seizure foci. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.