Abstract
Focal epilepsy can be produced by a blood-brain barrier (BBB)-excluded systemic convulsant (penicillin, folic acid, etc.) in the presence of a focal BBB lesion. Bicuculline methiodide, a γ-aminobutyric acid blocking epileptogen, crosses the normal BBB of rats poorly and produces no consistent abnormality behaviorally or on EEG of 36 mg/kg. When the BBB is opened in 0.25 ml of cortex by 6,000 rad of α particles, by a pin trauma lesion, or by a heat lesion, the rats are normal clinically and on EEG. When these lesioned rats are challenged with bicuculline methiodide, 36 mg/kg, an intense, highly localized epileptiform discharge results that begins ~20 min after injection and lasts 30-90 min. The plausibility and experimental utility of the BBB-epileptogen model of epilepsy are enhanced by these observations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 69-73 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Epilepsia |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| State | Published - 1985 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Neurology
- Neuroscience(all)