Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy

• Grant number: 17/25029-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 01, 2018
• End date: March 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Medical Clinics
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Cendes
• Grantee: Renata Barbosa
• Supervisor: Luis Concha Loyola
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Juriquilla (UNAM), Mexico
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/11277-6 - Structural and biochemical evaluation by magnetic resonance imaging in temporal lobe epilepsy model in rats with and without status epilepticus, BP.DR

Abstract

Epileptogenesis is defined as a chronic process triggered by genetic or acquired factors in which the brain network becomes susceptible to seizures and predisposed to generate spontaneous recurrent seizures. However, the concept of epileptogenesis is not yet well established. Brain trauma, injury during early childhood and birth, stroke, infections, status epilepticus, and tumor are risk factors related to epileptogenic mechanisms. Studies in humans and animal models of epilepsy have used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) as an essential tool in the investigation of the epileptogenic process. Although historically epilepsy is considered a disease that affects gray matter, studies have shown that white matter structures, even distant from the initial epileptogenic zone, may also be involved in focal epilepsies. DTI is capable of identifying microstructural changes in the white matter in the brain, such as axonal injury or demyelination through the translational motion of water molecules. This study aims to evaluate microstructural changes in the white matter of the brain of Wistar rats by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The analyses will focus on images made before and during the epileptogenesis latency period, and after the development of spontaneous seizures induced by pilocarpine. Diffusion Tensor Imaging is a promising tool for neuroimaging research in human and animal models. Longitudinal studies with DTI may play a crucial role in the investigation of biomarkers related to the complex mechanisms involved in epileptogenesis, and the experimental models of epilepsy may be an attractive alternative for understanding the epileptogenesis since they show similar characteristics to human epilepsy. (AU)