Experimental and theoretical investigations on effects of focal brain cooling on the generalized seizures

• Project/Area Number: 25540136
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Life / Health / Medical informatics
• Research Institution: Yamaguchi University
• Principal Investigator: SUZUKI Michiyasu 山口大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (80196873)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): ISHIZUKA Satoru 九州工業大学, 大学院生命体工学研究科, 准教授 (40124804)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): INOUE Takao 山口大学, 医学部附属病院, 助教 (80513225)
• Research Collaborator: HE Yeting 山口大学, 大学院医学系研究科
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2014)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
• Keywords: 局所脳冷却 / てんかん / ビククリン / 全般性てんかん / 全般てんかん / 脳波 / 脳温

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The goal of the study was to investigate the effects of focal brain cooling (FBC) on bicuculline-induced generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCSs) in rats. A cooling device was implanted in the right somatosensory cortex in rats. Five days after implantation, GTCSs were produced by intraperitoneal injection of bicuculline under free-moving conditions. Ten minutes after GTCS onset, the temperature of the cortical surface was reduced to 15, 10 or 5゜C for 10 min. ECoG and seizure symptoms were continuously monitored and the severity of each GTCS was scored using the Racine stage.Temperature reduction to 15, 10 and 5 significantly improved Racine stages and suppressed epileptiform discharges (EDs). These findings indicate that FBC has an anticonvulsant effect on GTCSs and may suppress EDs in the cooled cortex and in the remote cortex, which has nerve fiber connections from the cooled cortex via the corpus callosum.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Penicillin-induced epileptiform activity elevates focal brain temperature in anesthetized rats. (2013)
  • Author(s): Tokiwa T, Inoue T, Fujii M, Ishizuka S, Aou S, Kida H, Maruta Y, Yamakawa T, Nomura S, Suzuki M, Yamakawa T.
  • Journal Title: Neurosci Res. Volume: 76 Issue: 4 Pages: 257-260
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2013.05.001
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Anticonvulsant properties of focal brain cooling in experimental generalized tonic-clonic seizures (2014)
  • Author(s): Yeting He, Takao Inoue, Masami Fujii, Yuichi Maruta, Hiroyuki Kida, Yuji Owada, Toshitaka Yamakawa, Takeshi Yamakawa, Michiyasu Suzuki
  • Organizer: Neuroscience2014
  • Place of Presentation: Washington Convention Center, USA
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-14
• [Presentation] Anticonvulsant effects of focal brain cooling on rat generalized seizures model (2014)
  • Author(s): 賀業霆、井上貴雄、藤井正美、野村貞宏、丸田雄一、井本浩哉、山川俊貴、木田裕之、鈴木倫保
  • Organizer: 第37回日本てんかん外科学会
  • Place of Presentation: 大阪国際会議場（大阪）
• [Presentation] ニューロモデュレーション『局所脳冷却』による難治性神経疾患治療 (2013)
  • Author(s): 井上貴雄、藤井正美、丸田雄一、井本浩哉、賀業霆、小泉博靖、野村貞宏、山川俊貴、大和田祐二、山川烈、鈴木倫保
  • Organizer: 第28回信号処理シンポジウム
  • Place of Presentation: 海峡メッセ下関（山口）