Objective To determine neuroprotective properties of levetiracetam and simvastatin using rats with pilocaroine-induced epilepsy. Methods Epileptic rat models were randomly divided into 4 groups, each being exposed to saline, simvastatin, levetiracetam, or levetiracetam+simvastatin. Brain tissues of the rats were examined. Nissl staining was used to determine pilocarpine-induced neuronal loss in CA1 and CA3 of hippocampus. Western blot was used to detect calpain-1 expression of hippocampus. Results Severe cell death was found 24 h after seizures, with a level significantly higher than the controls. Compared with the saline-treated cells, simvastatin did not decrease severe cell death (\P>0.05), but levetiracetam and levetiracetam+simvastatin decreased severe cell death 24 h after seizures (\P\P
