Critical review of current animal models of seizures and epilepsy used in the discovery and development of new antiepileptic drugs

Wolfgang Löschera, 

Abstract

Animal models for seizures and epilepsy have played a fundamental role in advancing our understanding of basic mechanisms underlying ictogenesis and epileptogenesis and have been instrumental in the discovery and preclinical development of novel antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). However, there is growing concern that the efficacy of drug treatment of epilepsy has not substantially improved with the introduction of new AEDs, which, at least in part, may be due to the fact that the same simple screening models, i.e., the maximal electroshock seizure (MES) and s.c. pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) seizure tests, have been used as gatekeepers in AED discovery for >6 decades. It has been argued that these old models may identify only drugs that share characteristics with existing drugs, and are unlikely to have an effect on refractory epilepsies. Indeed, accumulating evidence with several novel AEDs, including levetiracetan, has shown that the MES and PTZ models do not identify all potential AEDs but instead may fail to discover compounds that have great potential efficacy but work through mechanisms not tested by these models. Awareness of the limitations of acute seizure models comes at a critical crossroad. Clearly, preclinical strategies of AED discovery and development need a conceptual shift that is moving away from using models that identify therapies for the symptomatic treatment of epilepsy to those that may be useful for identifying therapies that are more effective in the refractory population and that may ultimately lead to an effective cure in susceptible individuals by interfering with the processes underlying epilepsy. To realize this goal, the molecular mechanisms of the next generation of therapies must necessarily evolve to include targets that contribute to epileptogenesis and pharma coresistance in relevant epilepsy models.

Article Critical review of current animal models of seizures and epi...

You can use Strychnine 0,5 mg to 2.5 mg i.m in rodents to induced convulsions. for details you can refer the article: The Protective Action of BAL on Strychnine-Induced Convulsions.

Depends on what kinds of seizure you want to study. Have a look at kainic acid on PubMed or Google scholar.

You can also use bicuculline and picrotoxin as well known GABA-A receptors antagonists which are included in convulsive seizures.

Animal models of epilepsy: use and limitations

Ludmyla Kandratavicius,1 Priscila Alves Balista,1 Cleiton Lopes-Aguiar,1 Rafael Naime Ruggiero,1 Eduardo Henrique Umeoka,2 Norberto Garcia-Cairasco,2 Lezio Soares Bueno-Junior,1 and Joao Pereira Leite1

Abstract

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures that affects millions of people worldwide. Comprehension of the complex mechanisms underlying epileptogenesis and seizure generation in temporal lobe epilepsy and other forms of epilepsy cannot be fully acquired in clinical studies with humans. As a result, the use of appropriate animal models is essential. Some of these models replicate the natural history of symptomatic focal epilepsy with an initial epileptogenic insult, which is followed by an apparent latent period and by a subsequent period of chronic spontaneous seizures. Seizures are a combination of electrical and behavioral events that are able to induce chemical, molecular, and anatomic alterations. In this review, we summarize the most frequently used models of chronic epilepsy and models of acute seizures induced by chemoconvulsants, traumatic brain injury, and electrical or sound stimuli. Genetic models of absence seizures and models of seizures and status epilepticus in the immature brain were also examined. Major uses and limitations were highlighted, and neuropathological, behavioral, and neurophysiological similarities and differences between the model and the human equivalent were considered. The quest for seizure mechanisms can provide insights into overall brain functions and consciousness, and animal models of epilepsy will continue to promote the progress of both epilepsy and neurophysiology research.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4164293/