Regarding chronic models of epilepsy, it is noteworthy
that limbic kindling features are distinguished from models
of TLE induced by kainic acid or pilocarpine, which are
initiated by severe SE associated to prominent temporal and
extratemporal damage, in addition to the rapid emergence
of spontaneous recurrent seizures. Instead, kindling produces subtle but cumulative neuronal loss and a number of
cellular alterations in brain circuits that eventually result in
spontaneous seizures. Therefore, despite being laborious,
kindling provides an opportunity to study the dynamics
of epileptogenic processes that are particularly relevant to
TLE. Recently, Srivastava et al took advantage of both
kindling and pharmacology approaches to develop a novel
experimental model of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. The
authors have demonstrated that even a single exposure to lamotrigine or carbamazepine 48 hours after kindling induction
leads to a decrease in the ability of these AEDs to attenuate
further evoked ADs. Modeling pharmacoresistant epilepsies
is, indeed, critical to developing new AEDs. Another interesting approach is the combination of genetic engineering
and electrophysiological models of seizures. For instance,
two recent studies with transgenic mice have provided direct
evidence that the development of kindling requires the
BDNF receptor tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) activation through
a specifc phospholipase signaling. Although the tyrosine
kinase B presence requirement for epileptogenesis has been
evaluated mostly in kindling models, we have recently shown
in human mesial TLE that increased hippocampal tyrosine
kinase B expression also has a prominent role in secondary
generalized seizures in addition to increased seizure frequency and poor surgical outcome. Taken together, these
fndings point out the importance of combing the kindling
approach with cutting-edge tools to delimit novel targets
for the prevention of epileptogenesis and the treatment of
pharmacoresistant epilepsies.