Scheme 1

Schematic overview of the experimental design. SD rats were subjected to kainic acid-induced status epilepticus (KA-SE) followed by treatment with either vehicle or DMF (200 mg/kg/day, ip). Treatments were initiated within 10 min after diazepam injection (for termination of SE), followed by once daily administration for an additional 6 days. The vehicle group received an equivalent volume and number of injections, similar to those in the DMF group. A For biochemical and histological analyses, rats were sacrificed 2 h after the last dose (7 days after SE). B To evaluate the anti-epileptogenic effect, ECoG devices were implanted into rat brains 1 week before KA-SE, followed by treatment with vehicle or DMF for one week after SE. Video-ECoG monitoring was conducted for up–16-18 weeks after SE. Behavioral testing was performed at week 13 after SE (the time of chronic epilepsy). At the end of the video-ECoG recording, the rat brains were harvested for histological analysis. C To test the anti-seizure effect of DMF, we induced KA-SE in rats, then 10–12 weeks later, we implanted ECoG devices into rats and conducted video-ECoG monitoring. We performed baseline video-ECoG monitoring for 3 weeks, followed by treatment with the vehicle or DMF for 1 week. Rats were sacrificed at the end of the video-ECoG monitoring period