Effetti anticonvulsivanti di desacyl-ghrelin in un modello d'epilessia del lobo temporale.

We investigated the effects of the growth hormone secretagogue ghrelin and its precursor/metabolitedesacyl-ghrelin in rats exposed to pilocarpine-induced seizures. Pilocarpine (380 mg/kg) was administered toSprague-Dawley rats pretreated with scopolamine, followed by saline (control group) or the tested hormone(ghrelin and desacyl-ghrelin at 1.5 mg/kg). After induction of status epilepticus (SE), seizures were quelled byinjecting diazepam (20 mg/kg). Four days after SE, rats were sacrificed to evaluate lesions in hippocampus.Pilocarpine did not induce seizures in 20% and SE was prevented in 60% of desacyl-ghrelin treated rats. In ghrelintreated group, all rats developed seizures and SE. Interestingly, both ghrelin and desacyl-ghrelin preventedpost-SE mortality. Hippocampal lesions were larger in control rats than in ghrelin or desacyl-ghrelin treated rats(p < 0.05 unpaired Student’s t-test). We thereby conclude that desacyl-ghrelin possesses antiepileptic propertiesin the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy.