Holmes G L, Weber D A
Ann Neurol. 1986 Jul;20(1):82-8. doi: 10.1002/ana.410200114.
Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) has been frequently used as an anticonvulsant drug in some childhood seizure disorders. Despite its widespread use, few studies have evaluated the effects of ACTH on seizure susceptibility in the developing animal or the long-term consequences of ACTH treatment on brain development. In this study, ACTH was given either for 2 days or 14 days prior to kindling in 15-, 22-, and 30-day-old rats. Morphological changes in the brain were studied using routine light microscopy and dendrite branch counting following Golgi staining. Both acute and chronic ACTH treatment inhibited the rate of kindling in all three age groups. There were no differences in brain morphology between the controls and the ACTH-treated rats killed shortly after kindling. Rats treated with ACTH and killed as adults, however, had significantly more dendrite branches than did controls. In the immature brain, ACTH treatment reduces seizure susceptibility and has no long-term deleterious effects on neuronal growth.
促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）在一些儿童癫痫疾病中常被用作抗惊厥药物。尽管其应用广泛，但很少有研究评估ACTH对发育中动物癫痫易感性的影响，或ACTH治疗对脑发育的长期后果。在本研究中，在15日龄、22日龄和30日龄大鼠点燃前分别给予ACTH 2天或14天。使用常规光学显微镜和高尔基染色后的树突分支计数研究脑的形态学变化。急性和慢性ACTH治疗均抑制了所有三个年龄组的点燃率。在点燃后不久处死的对照组和ACTH治疗组大鼠之间，脑形态没有差异。然而，成年后处死的ACTH治疗组大鼠的树突分支明显多于对照组。在未成熟脑内，ACTH治疗可降低癫痫易感性，且对神经元生长无长期有害影响。
