Simvastatin, edaravone and dexamethasone protect against kainate-induced brain endothelial cell damage.

Background Excitotoxicity is a central pathological pathway in many neurological diseases with blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction. Kainate, an exogenous excitotoxin, induces epilepsy and BBB damage in animal models, but the direct effect of kainate on brain endothelial cells has not been studied in detail. Our aim was to examine the direct effects of kainate on cultured cells of the BBB and to test three anti-inflammatory and antioxidant drugs used in clinical practice, simvastatin, edaravone and dexamethasone, to protect against kainate-induced changes.