Effects of Some Antiepileptic Drugs in Pentetrazol‐Induced Convulsions in Mice Lesioned with Kainic Acid

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Abstract
Mice were injected with intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) kainic acid (KA; 0.1 .mu.g per animal) and the pentetrazole test was carried out on the 5th day after the administration of the amino acid. The following antiepileptic drugs were tested for anticonvulsant activity in mice lesioned with KA: diazepam (0.4 mg/kg), phenobarbital (12.5 and 25 mg/kg), trimethadione (200 and 400 mg/kg), depakine (200 and 400 mg/kg), carbamazepine (10 and 20 mg/kg), lefadol (bromophenylsuccinimide; 20 mg/kg) and acetazolamide (320 mg/kg). All drugs were given i.p., except for carbamazepine, which was also given orally in doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg. Pentetrazole was administered s.c. in a dose of 110 mg/kg, and the animals were subsequently observed for the occurrence of clonic and tonic convulsions within 30 min. The protective effects of diazepam and phenobarbital were significantly reduced in the KA-lesioned animals, while the actions of the remaining anticonvulsants were unaltered. A substantial loss of pyramidal cells in the CA 3 field of the hippocampus was noted after i.c.v. injection of KA. The mechanism of the action of diazepam and phenobarbital are partially dependent on the intact functions of the hippocampal formation.