Prophylaxis Of Posttraumatic Epilepsy Following Head Injury In The Rat

Posttraumatic epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that appears following head injury and for which there currently is no prophylactic treatment. This project aims to achieve two goals by employing our recently developed model of posttraumatic epilepsy, in which chronic recurrent spontaneous partial seizures reliably appear in the rat following a realistic insult (FPI) presenting mechanical features very similar to human closed head injury. First, we aim to examine acute and subacute electrocorticograms to determine whether an electrophysiological biomarker of epileptogenesis exists that would allow one to predict the later onset of epilepsy. Such a biomarker would allow one to target antiepileptogenic treatments to patients at risk of developing epilepsy and not to others, therefore reducing side effects. Second, we aim to begin testing the effectiveness of drugs that already have an excellent human safety profile and that are currently being considered for clinical trial of antiepileptogenesis following head injury. Our work will help optimize these clinical trials and increase their chances of success.