Thiamine Alleviates Cognitive Impairment and Epileptogenesis by Relieving Brain Inflammation in PTZ-induced Kindling Rat Model

Epileptogenesis, the process by which the brain becomes epileptic, is related to neuroinflammation, hyperexcitability, and as a result cognitive deficits. Evidence suggests that therapeutic strategies targeting pathologic brain inflammation have emerged as a promising approach that prevents or disease-modifying therapy for epileptogenesis. Therefore, the PTZ kindling model of epilepsy was utilized to assess the neuroprotective role of thiamine in epileptogenesis. Male rats were exposed to PTZ-induced kindling and pretreated with low thiamine (25 mg/kg) or high thiamine (50 mg/kg). Cyclooxygenase (COX-1 and COX-2), interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) concentrations in the brain were analyzed using biochemical assays. Cognitive function was evaluated using the passive avoidance test. Thiamine ameliorated epileptogenesis and enhanced the rats' performance in the passive avoidance test. Also, thiamine significantly decreased the level of neuroinflammatory mediators in the brain induced by PTZ. These results provide evidence that thiamine alleviates PTZ-induced neuroinflammation and cognitive impairments.