BACKGROUND Cytisine (CYT), the most commonly used drug for smoking cessation in Poland, was experimentally found to induce convulsions. There is a lack of studies on the influence of CYT on the anticonvulsant activity of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs). METHODS The effects of CYT on the anticonvulsant activity of six AEDs were examined in maximal electroshock (MES)-induced seizures in mice. RESU...

Omeprazole is a commonly prescribed drug for patients with peptic ulcerations. Its main mechanism of action is related to inhibition of H(+)-K(+)-ATP-ase, albeit it may also block carbonic anhydrase. This study evaluates the effects of acute and prolonged (3- or 7-day) intragastrical administration of omeprazole on the anticonvulsant activity of carbamazepine or diphenylhydantoin against maxima...

Observation: The anticonvulsant hypersensitivity syndrome is rare complication that occurs with the use of antiepileptic medications. All of the aromatic anticonvulsant drugs are metabolised by the cytochrome P-450 enzyme to a common arene oxide metabolite that is normally detoxified by epoxide hydrolase. A genetically determined inability to detoxify the toxic metabolites due to a defect in th...

The choice of appropriate animal models for the initial in vivo testing of potential anticonvulsant compounds is one of the most important steps in the successful search for new antiepileptic drugs. The purpose of this paper is to describe the most important aspects to take into account when performing the maximal electroshock seizure (MES) test in the routine laboratory screening of new antiep...

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a severe mucocutaneous syndrome that can be occasionally caused by anticonvulsant drugs. In some cases, cranial irradiation may act as a precipitating factor. Thus, in cancer patients who suffer from brain metastases and are administered antiepileptic drugs for seizure prophylaxis, the risk of developing TEN after receiving palliative brain radiotherapy canno...

Twenty-five patients with long-standing therapy resistant epilepsy were studied in an eight-month double-blind cross-over add-on trial with a daily dose of 15 mg flunarizine. In five patients the seizure frequency decreased 50% or more. The mean seizure frequency reduction in the patients on flunarizine was 35%. Particularly the control of secondary generalized seizures improved. Flunarizine di...

Fetal valproate syndrome (FVS) is a well-recognized constellation of dysmorphic features, and neurodevelopmental retardation that results from prenatal exposure to the anticonvulsant valproic acid. In this report, we describe a case with typical features of FVS. A 23-year-old lady with post-traumatic epilepsy controlled by sodium valproate (Depakene) 500 mg twice daily throughout pregnancy as m...

A survey of 105 epileptic children aged 10-16 years at a residential school who were taking anticonvulsant drugs showed reduced serum calcium levels in 30% and a raised serum alkaline phosphatase in 24%. Urinary D-glucaric acid excretion, a quantitative index of hepatic enzyme induction, was raised in 94% of the children, and statistical analysis showed a significant inverse correlation with th...

Anticonvulsant effect of cytoskeletal depolymerizing drugs in combination with potassium channel (KATP) opener and adenylate cyclase activator was evaluated in animal models of epilepsy. Seizures were induced in the animals by subjecting them to maximal electroshock (MES) or by injecting a chemical convulsant, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ). Moreover a correlation with the nerve growth factor (NGF) w...

Anticonvulsant hypersensitivity syndrome is a systemic illness that presents most commonly as a triad of fever, rash, and lymphadenopathy in a patient exposed to one or more of the aromatic antiepileptic drugs (phenytoin, phenobarbital, and carbamazepine). Although generally self-limited, the syndrome may be life-threatening, particularly among patients who develop severe cutaneous eruptions or...