Dynamic structural and metabolic changes during the epileptogenesis in the pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy: A longitudinal MRI study

The novelty of our study was to analyze non-invasively structural and metabolic markers of hippocampal dysfunction across the three main phases of pilocarpine-induced epileptogenesis in comparison to the typical brain development over the same period. Acute dorsal hippocampal volume loss and hippocampal neuronal dysfunction are present as early as 48 h post-pilocarpine-induced SE, dynamically changing over time. This acute damage is followed by a pattern of gradual recovery throughout the silent and chronic phases of epileptogenesis, though with an offset for the pilo-SE group. A better understanding of the course of noninvasive markers of epileptogenesis and HS may contribute to stablish surrogate endpoints in interventions to treat or prevent focal epilepsy.