Volume 56 (2006) Issue: 2006 No#1

Does valproate act as an anticonvulsant or antiepileptic on metaphitinduced seizure in rats?.

Author(s): Stanojlović Olivera, Hrnčić D, Živanović Dragana, Šušić Veselinka, Aranđelović Aleksandra

Keywords:audiogenic seizures, EEG, power spectra, metaphit, valproate, rats

The effects of valproate sodium (VPA) on metaphit (1-Š1-(3- isothiocyanatophenyl)-cyclohexyl¹-piperidine)-induced epilepsy were studied. For this purpose, adult Wistar rat males were used and their behavioral, electrocortical activity and power spectra were examined. Severity of metaphit (10 mg/kg; i.p.) seizures was increasing during the time needit to reach the peak 7-12 h after injection. VPA (100 mg/kg) was i.p. injected to animals with fully developed metaphit seizures after the 8th audiogenic testing. The rats divided in four groups received (i.p.): 1. saline; 2. metaphit alone; 3. metaphit + VPA and 4. VPA alone. They were exposed to sound stimulation 60 min after metaphit administration and further on at hourly intervals. Metaphit produced generalized convulsions and electrocortical abnormalites (high voltage spikes and spike-wave complexes) and power spectrum analysis revealed an increase in total voltage output during the seizure. Valproate, a classical antiepileptic drug prolonged the duration of latency period, decreased the incidence and mean seizure grade but expressed no effect on metaphit-induced electrocortical abnormalites. The results suggest that VPA (100 mg/kg) acted as an anticonvulsant rather than antiepileptic in the metaphit model of epilepsy.