Combined Treatment of Dichloroacetic Acid and Pyruvate Increased Neuronal Survival after Seizure

During seizure activity, glucose and Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels are significantly decreased in the brain, which is a contributing factor to seizure-induced neuronal death. Dichloroacetic acid (DCA) has been shown to prevent cell death. DCA is also known to be involved in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production by activating pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), a gatekeeper of glucose oxidation, as a pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) inhibitor. To confirm these findings, in this study, rats were given a per oral (P.O.) injection of DCA (100 mg/kg) with pyruvate (50 mg/kg) once per day for 1 week starting 2 h after the onset of seizures induced by pilocarpine administration. Neuronal death and oxidative stress were assessed 1 week after seizure to determine if the combined treatment of pyruvate and DCA increased neuronal survival and reduced oxidative damage in the hippocampus. We found that the combined treatment of pyruvate and DCA showed protective effects against seizure-associated hippocampal neuronal cell death compared to the vehicle-treated group. Treatment with combined pyruvate and DCA after seizure may have a therapeutic effect by increasing the proportion of pyruvate converted to ATP. Thus, the current research demonstrates that the combined treatment of pyruvate and DCA may have therapeutic potential in seizure-induced neuronal death.