Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun 27:9:655.
doi: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00655. eCollection 2018.

A Systematic Review on Non-mammalian Models in Epilepsy Research

Muhammad Faiz Johan Arief  1   2 , Brandon Kar Meng Choo  2 , Jia Ling Yap  2   3 , Yatinesh Kumari  2 , Mohd Farooq Shaikh  2
Affiliations

A Systematic Review on Non-mammalian Models in Epilepsy Research

Muhammad Faiz Johan Arief et al. Front Pharmacol. .

Abstract

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by seizures which result in distinctive neurobiological and behavioral impairments. Not much is known about the causes of epilepsy, making it difficult to devise an effective cure for epilepsy. Moreover, clinical studies involving epileptogenesis and ictogenesis cannot be conducted in humans due to ethical reasons. As a result, animal models play a crucial role in the replication of epileptic seizures. In recent years, non-mammalian models have been given a primary focus in epilepsy research due to their advantages. This systematic review aims to summarize the importance of non-mammalian models in epilepsy research, such as in the screening of anti-convulsive compounds. The reason for this review is to integrate currently available information on the use and importance of non-mammalian models in epilepsy testing to aid in the planning of future studies as well as to provide an overview of the current state of this field. A PRISMA model was utilized and PubMed, Springer, ScienceDirect and SCOPUS were searched for articles published between January 2007 and November 2017. Fifty-one articles were finalized based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were discussed in this review. The results of this review demonstrated the current use of non-mammalian models in epilepsy research and reaffirmed their potential to supplement the typical rodent models of epilepsy in future research into both epileptogenesis and the treatment of epilepsy. This review also revealed a preference for zebrafish and fruit flies in lieu of other non-mammalian models, which is a shortcoming that should be corrected in future studies due to the great potential of these underutilized animal models.

Keywords: drosophila; epilepsy; fruit fly; leech; planaria; roundworm; tadpole; zebrafish.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of study selection criteria based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A brief overview of all the non-mammalian models for epilepsy research in this review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Afrikanova T., Serruys A. S., Buenafe O. E., Clinckers R., Smolders I., De Witte P., et al. (2013). Validation of the Zebrafish pentylenetetrazol seizure model: locomotor versus electrographic responses to antiepileptic drugs. PLoS ONE 8:e54166. 10.1371/journal.pone.0054166 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Agata K., Soejima Y., Kato K., Kobayashi C., Umesono Y., Watanabe K. (1998). Structure of the Planarian Central Nervous System (CNS) revealed by neuronal cell markers. Zool. Sci. 15, 433–440. 10.2108/zsj.15.433 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alexander A. G., Marfil V., Li C. (2014). Use of Caenorhabditis elegans as a model to study Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Front. Genet. 5:279. 10.3389/fgene.2014.00279 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Atanasov A. G., Waltenberger B., Pferschy-Wenzig E. M., Linder T., Wawrosch C., Uhrin P., et al. (2015). Discovery and resupply of pharmacologically active plant-derived natural products: a review. Biotechnol. Adv. 33, 1582–1614. 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2015.08.001 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baker G. A., Jacoby A., Buck D., Stalgis C., Monnet D. (1997). Quality of life of people with epilepsy: a European study. Epilepsia 38, 353–362. 10.1111/j.1528-1157.1997.tb01128.x - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources