Does Seizure Activity Produce Purkinje Cell Loss?

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Abstract
Eight Wistar rats were exposed to 140 electroconvulsive seizures over 50 days. Ten rats served as controls. The density of Purkinje cells in cerebellum ranged from 15.3-18.5/mm in the treated rats and from 15.2-19.1/mm in the controls. No Purkinje cell loss was disclosed in the rats subjected to electroconvulsive seizures. Mongolian gerbils (25) of the seizure-susceptible strain were selected according to seizure score with 5 animals in each group. Five Mongolian gerbils of a seizure-resistant strain served as controls. The density of the Purkinje cells ranged from 21.4-29.8/mm in the seizure-susceptible animals and from 27.6-31.5/mm in the controls, with a lower density in the gerbils with seizures compared with the controls (P < 0.05). There was no relation to type or number of seizures. Eight gerbils of the seizure-susceptible strain were included as a supplementary group, to disclose any possible genetic trait as an explanation of the lower Purkinje cell density. The Purkinje cell density in these animals ranged from 24.8-30.9/mm and did not differ from the density in the seizure-resistant gerbils. Thus, the lower density of Purkinje cells in the seizure-susceptible Mongolian gerbils is a result of seizure activity. The excessive epileptic input with stimulation of the glutamatergic innervation of the Purkinje cells resulting in a persistent elevated GABA tone may explain the damage to the Purkinje cells in the gerbils and the loss of Purkinje cells found in patients with severe epilepsy.