THE CARDIAC GLYCOSIDE OUABAIN POTENTIATES EXCITOTOXIC INJURY OF ADULTNEURONS IN RAT HIPPOCAMPUS

We demonstrate that the enzyme family responsible for the restoration of the transmembrane cation balance, namely the sodium pump (Na+,K+-AT Pase), plays a critical role in whether glutamate injures adult neuron s in vivo. Partial inhibition of the sodium pump by the cardiac glycos ide ouabain in young adult rats is not itself damaging. This treatment , however, markedly potentiates ordinarily subtoxic dosages of the glu tamate analog kainic acid to produce limbic seizures and widespread ne urodegeneration within the hippocampus in a pattern closely resembling that observed for human temporal lobe epilepsy.