Do recurrent febrile convulsions decrease the threshold for pilocarpine-induced seizures? Effects of nitric oxide.
The aim of the study was to determine whether (1) number of febrile convulsions is a predictor of development of temporal lobe epilepsy, (2) the susceptibility of rats to pilocarpine-induced seizures is increased due to febrile convulsions and (3) nitric oxide is a mediator in the pathogenesis of febrile convulsions. Rat pups were exposed to single or multiple hyperthermic seizures. Subconvulsant doses of pilocarpine (100 mg/kg and 150 mg/kg) were injected intraperitoneally to these rats at 60--70 days of age. Also L-arginine was applied to some rats before a single hyperthermic seizure. We found that risk of future epilepsy increases parallel to the number of febrile convulsions and nitric oxide does not have a pathogenetic role at given doses.
Uludag University Medical Faculty, Department of Physiology, 16059 Görükle, Bursa, Turkey. guldal@uludag.edu.tr
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D000818:Animals; D001120:Arginine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006979:Hyperthermia, Induced / Q000009:adverse effects; D007101:Immersion; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D010862:Pilocarpine; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003294:Seizures, Febrile / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*
D010862:Pilocarpine; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D001120:Arginine