朱砂对癫痫发作的模型依赖性减弱，这一成果由浙江中医药大学陈忠团队经过不懈努力而取得。该项研究成果发表在2025年8月10日出版的《神经科学通报》上。

在本研究中，课题组研究人员发现朱砂对小鼠具有模型依赖的抗癫痫作用。具体而言，它显著减轻急性发作，增强地西泮抗性癫痫发作的终止，并减少kainic酸（KA）诱导的癫痫发作模型中的自发发作。相反，在最大电击，戊四唑或引火引起的癫痫发作模型中没有发现治疗效果。纤维光度法显示，朱砂通过同时降低谷氨酸亢进和γ-氨基丁酸亢进，使KA诱导的海马神经传递失衡正常化。

此外，朱砂具有神经保护作用，减轻共病的焦虑样行为，而运动功能没有改变。他们的研究结果表明，朱砂作为癫痫发作治疗药物的潜力，通过一种与海马兴奋性/抑制性失衡逆转相关的机制。

据了解，癫痫是最普遍和最严重的神经系统疾病之一，目前可用的药物无法充分控制癫痫。朱砂（硫化汞）是一种传统中药，在治疗癫痫方面有着悠久的应用历史，但其治疗效果和潜在的机制尚不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Model-Dependent Attenuation of Seizures by Cinnabar

Author: Gu, Yuang, Yao, Yu, Lou, Qiuwen, Zhu, Xinyan, Lan, Ju, Gao, Chenshu, Wu, Shuangshuang, Liang, Jingjia, Xu, Cenglin, Wang, Yi, Cheng, Heming, Chen, Zhong

Issue&Volume: 2025-08-10

Abstract: Epilepsy is one of the most prevalent and severe neurological disorders, and it is inadequately controlled with currently available medications. While cinnabar (mercury(II) sulfide)—a traditional Chinese medicine—has historical application in epilepsy treatment, its therapeutic efficacy and underlying mechanisms are unclear. In this study, we find that cinnabar exerts model-dependent antiseizure efficacy in mice. Specifically, it significantly attenuates acute seizures, enhances the termination of diazepam-resistant status epilepticus, and reduces spontaneous seizures in the kainic acid (KA)-induced seizure model. Conversely, no therapeutic effect was found in the maximal electroshock-, pentylenetetrazole-, or kindling-induced seizure model. Fiber photometry revealed that cinnabar normalizes KA-induced hippocampal neurotransmission imbalances by simultaneously decreasing glutamate hyperactivity and γ-aminobutyric acid hypoactivity. Furthermore, cinnabar has neuroprotective effects and alleviates comorbid anxiety-like behaviors, while showing no alterations in motor function. Our findings suggest cinnabar's potential as a therapeutic agent for seizure management, via a mechanism associated with the reversal of the hippocampal excitatory/inhibitory imbalance.

DOI: 10.1007/s12264-025-01480-7

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12264-025-01480-7