A NEW APPROACH FOR EARLY ASSESSMENT OF THE EPILEPTOGENIC POTENTIAL OFQUINOLONES

The epileptogenic potential of pefloxacin and norfloxacin, two quinolo ne antibiotics. was investigated in vivo in three different animal spe cies by measuring drug concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), wh ich is Dart of the biophase, at the onset of convulsions. Interestingl y, the pefloxacin-to-norfloxacin concentration ratios in CSF were virt ually constant across the species (7.0, 6.6, and 6.0 in mice, rats, an d rabbits, respectively), suggesting that this approach could be used to predict the relative epileptogenic potential of quinolones in human s.