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Pentylenetetrazol convulsions and brain catecholamine turnover rate in rats and mice receiving diphenylhydantoin or benzodiazepines

1973; Elsevier BV; Volume: 12; Issue: 11 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/0028-3908(73)90050-6

1873-7064

Masami Doteuchi, E. Costa,

Epilepsy research and treatment

Diazepam, desmethyldiazepam and chlordiazepoxide in doses that protect 80% of the rats tested from pentylenetetrazol convulsions also reduce the turnover rate of striatal dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) in the hypothalamus and cerebellum of rats exposed to cold. However, the antagonistic action of benzodiazepines against pentylenetetrazol convulsions appears related to neither their action on the turnover rate of DA in striatum nor to that of NE in hypothalamus. Desmethyldiazepam and diazepam reduce more effectively than chlordiazepoxide the turnover rate of catecholamines in cerebellum of rats exposed to cold and the pentylenetetrazol convulsions. However, diphenylhydantoin, a drug with strong molecular structure similarity to diazepam, can decrease the turnover of catecholamines in cerebellum and other brain areas of rats exposed to cold but it does not antagonize the convulsions elicited by pentylenetetrazol. The action of benzodiazepines on turnover of NE and DA cannot be related to a direct action on amine metabolism. A diazepam analogue, RO 5-5807, reduces turnover rate of brain NE in mice but not in rats exposed to cold. This drug does not antagonize pentylenetetrazol convulsion in rats but it is active in mice.