QUALITATIVE CHANGES OF ANTICONVULSANT ACTION OF FELBAMATE DURING DEVELOPMENT IN RATS

The anticonvulsant action of felbamate (25, 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg i.p. ) was tested against motor seizures induced by pentylenetetrazol in fi ve age-groups of rats (7, 12, 18, 25 and 90 days old). In adult rats, felbamate suppressed generalized tonic-clonic seizures leaving intact minimal clonic seizures. In all groups of rat pups felbamate exhibited a specific action against the tonic phase of generalized tonic-clonic seizures. In addition, the highest dose of felbamate was found to sup press minimal seizures in 18-day-old rats. The changes of felbamate ac tion during ontogeny might be due to multiple mechanisms of anticonvul sant action with an uneven developmental profile. (C) 1998 Elsevier Sc ience B.V. All rights reserved.