Vasopressin may mediate febrile convulsions.
The possibility that arginine vasopressin (AVP) is involved in the etiology of febrile convulsions was investigated by experiments on hyperthermia-induced convulsions in rats. Homozygous Brattleboro rats, which genetically lack AVP, and Long Evans rats, which were passively immunized by intracerebroventricular anti-AVP antiserum, either convulsed at higher body temperatures than untreated Long Evans rats or did not convulse at all. This indicates that a lack of AVP increases the threshold for the convulsions. High blood levels of AVP in hyperthermic convulsing rats compared to hyperthermic non-convulsive rats support the hypothesis that AVP may mediate febrile convulsions.
D000818:Animals; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D001831:Body Temperature; D007106:Immune Sera; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology*; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000209:etiology*
D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D007106:Immune Sera; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin