Attenuating effects of pentoxifylline on memory, oxidative stress and monoamine levels in the hippocampus of seizure ? induced mice

Aim : Lithium ? pilocarpine (Li-Pc) - induced seizures in rodents serve as convenient animal models to study the mechanisms of epileptogenesis particularly with reference to the development of status epilepticus (SE), memory retention, neurotransmitters and oxidative stress systems in the brain hippocampus which may be involved in the modulation of SE. In the present study, adult male mice were used to study the neuroprotective effects of pentoxifylline (PTX) against Li?Pc induced SE. Materials and Methods : All SE-induced animals were pre-treated with 0, 20, 40, and 60 mg/kg PTX and were examined for all peripheral cholinergic signs, stereotyped and clonic movements, seizures, tremors, latency to and frequency of SE, and mortality if any within 24h. For assessing the memory retention capacity, the animals were subjected to shuttle-box test. Alterations in the oxidative stress indices like thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) and the monoamine levels of dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) were determined in the hippocampus of the SE-induced animals. Results : Pre-treatment with PTX attenuated the severity and frequency of epileptic seizure activities and learning capabilities significantly and dose-dependently in the SE-induced animals. Animals sacrificed 24 h later after SE induction resulted into a significant depletion of the monoamines and oxidative stress in the hippocampus and PTX pre-treatment reversed this condition. Conclusion : It was concluded that PTX may be having neuroprotective effects through possible involvement of brain monoamines and oxidative stress as prophylactic/therapeutic potentials in seizure mechanisms against SE.