2007

Traumatic Brain Injury Grantees

Evaluation Of Focal Cortical Cooling To Prevent Epileptogenesis And Control Chronic Seizures Induced By Fluid Percussion Injury In The Rat

Matthew Smyth, MD,
Washington University, St. Louis, MO/University of Washington, Seattle, WA
 

The aim of our proposal is to evaluate the effects of focal brain cooling on treating and preventing post-traumatic seizures. This proposal follows the initial discovery and description of electrical and behavioral partial seizures following fluid-percussion injury (FPI) in the rat. Focal brain cooling may provide a novel therapeutic model to treat medically refractory seizures without tissue destruction inherent in surgical resections and disconnections. Because of the similarities existing between this rodent model and human post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE), the data collected during this project will determine whether focal cooling may lead to improved therapy for acquired human epilepsy. The experiments planned include the administration of direct focal cooling at the FPI site after the development of post-traumatic chronic seizures in order to evaluate the anti-seizure effect of focal cortical cooling. Experiments also planned include the evaluation of the magnitude and extent of cooling on surrounding brain tissue, the temperatures required to inhibit seizure activity, and the potential neurotoxic effects of focal cooling. Obtaining these data will be an instrumental first step toward the translation of this technology in clinical settings.

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