Animal Models of Epilepsy and Epileptic Seizures

Abstract

In epilepsy research, animal models serve a variety of purposes. First, they are used in the search for new antiepileptic drugs. Second, once the anticonvulsant activity of a novel compound has been detected, animal models are used to evaluate the possible specific efficacies of the compound against different types of seizures or epilepsy. Third, animal models can be used to characterize the preclinical efficacy of novel compounds during chronic administration. Such chronic studies can serve different objectives, for instance, evaluation of whether drug efficacy changes during prolonged treatment, e.g. because of the development of tolerance, or examination of whether a drug exerts antiepilep-togenic effects during prolonged administration, i.e. is a true antiepileptic drug. Fourth, animal models are employed to characterize the mechanism of action of old and new antiepileptic drugs. Fifth, certain models can be used to study mechanisms of drug resistance in epilepsy. Sixth, in view of the possibility that chronic brain dysfunction, such as epilepsy, might lead to altered sensitivity to drug adverse effects, models involving epileptic animals are useful to study whether epileptogenesis alters the adverse effect potential of a given drug. Seventh, animal models are needed for studies on the pathophysiology of epilepsies and epileptic seizures, e.g. the processes involved in epileptogenesis and ictogenesis (Lothman 1996a).