Experimental Models for the Discovery of Novel Anticonvulsant Drugs: Focus on Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizures and Associated Memory Deficits.

Experimental Models for the Discovery of Novel Anticonvulsant Drugs: Focus on Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizures and Associated Memory Deficits. Curr Pharm Des. 2020;26(15):1693-1711 Authors: Alachkar A, Ojha SK, Sadeq A, Adem A, Frank A, Stark H, Sadek B Abstract Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by irregular, excessive neuronal excitability, and recurrent seizures that affect millions of patients worldwide. Currently, accessible antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) do not adequately support all epilepsy patients, with around 30% patients not responding to the existing therapies. As lifelong epilepsy treatment is essential, the search for new and more effective AEDs with an enhanced safety profile is a significant therapeutic goal. Seizures are a combination of electrical and behavioral events that can induce biochemical, molecular, and anatomic changes. Therefore, appropriate animal models are required to evaluate novel potential AEDs. Among the large number of available animal models of seizures, the acute pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced myoclonic seizure model is the most widely used model assessing the anticonvulsant effect of prospective AEDs, whereas chronic PTZ-kindled seizure models represent chronic models in which the repeated administration of PTZ at subconvulsive doses leads to the intensification of seizure activity or enhanced seizure susceptibility similar to that in human epilepsy. In this review, we ...
Source: Epilepsy Curr - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Curr Pharm Des Source Type: research