The genetics of status epilepticus

Histamine 1 receptor knock out mice show age-dependent susceptibility to status epilepticus and consequent neuronal damage

The central histaminergic neuron system is an important regulator of activity stages such as arousal and sleep. In several epilepsy models, histamine has been shown to modulate epileptic activity and histamine 1 (H1) receptors seem to play a key role in this process. However, little is known about the H1 receptor-mediated seizure regulation during the early postnatal development, and therefore we examined differences in severity of kainic acid (KA)-induced status epilepticus (SE) and consequent neuronal damage in H1 receptor knock out (KO) and wild type (WT) mice at postnatal days 14, 21, and 60 (P14, P21, and P60). Our results show that in P14 H1 receptor KO mice, SE severity and neuronal damage were comparable to those of WT mice, whereas P21 KO mice had significantly decreased survival, more severe seizures, and enhanced neuronal damage in various brain regions, which were observed only in males. In P60 mice, SE severity did not differ between the genotypes, but in KO group, neuronal damage was significantly increased. Our results suggest that H1 receptors could contribute to regulation of seizures and neuronal damage age-dependently thus making the histaminergic system as a challenging target for novel drug design in epilepsy.

Developmental outcome after a single episode of status epilepticus

Consequences of status epilepticus (SE) on psychomotor development and the specific impact of the convulsive event on emerging executive functions remain controversial. Infants treated for a single episode of SE, those treated for a single febrile seizure, and healthy infants were tested with respect to motor development, language, personal, and social skills and self-regulation. The children were divided into two age groups to investigate the impact of the convulsive event at different windows of brain maturation. We found that infants who had had SE were inferior to healthy controls on the development scales. Age differentiated SE impact on visuomotor development versus sociolinguistic development. Children who had been treated for SE had significantly more difficulties delaying a response to an attractive stimulus in one of the long-delay conditions. A single episode of SE can interfere with psychomotor and cognitive development in children without previous developmental delay, and it seems that the functions that are emerging at the time of insult are most vulnerable.