rss
J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1985;48:459-468 doi:10.1136/jnnp.48.5.459
  • Research Article

Antiepileptic and antiamnesic effect of carbamazepine in experimental limbic epilepsy.

  1. C A Hawkins,
  2. J Mellanby,
  3. J Brown

      Abstract

      Carbamazepine (20 mg/kg, 40 mg/kg or 60 mg/kg) given three times a day, has been demonstrated to have a significant anti-epileptic effect in rats with chronic limbic epilepsy induced by injecting tetanus toxin bilaterally into their hippocampi. This effect involved a reduction in the maximum number of fits occurring on one day, and with the highest dose, a significant reduction in the total number of fits. In a pilot experiment in which continuous EEG records were obtained throughout the syndrome, it appeared that the effect of carbamazepine was to reduce the proportion of EEG seizure discharges which lead to overt motor fits. With the higher drug dose plasma levels of carbamazepine were maintained around 2 micrograms/ml. This experimental epilepsy produces enduring deficits in the rats' memories for a light-discrimination task in a Y-maze learned before induction of epilepsy (8 weeks after initial learning). If the rats are dosed with carbamazepine during their epilepsy this memory deficit is abolished.

      This Article

      1. Abstract
      2. PDF

      Responses

      1. Submit a response
      2. No responses published

      Register for free content

      The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

      Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.

      BMJ Careers - Latest neurology and neurosurgery jobs