[Preventive anti-epileptic action of taurine administered by direct cortical perfusion]

To test taurine preventive antiepileptic effect a 90-minute taurine cortical perfusion was made to 8 cats in the left sensory-motor area. A cobalt lesion was then made in the same area following routine. In all cats the beginning and subsequent development of the interictal and ictal epileptic picture were remarkably delayed in comparison with a control group of animals without taurine pretreatment. The taurine preventive action, as the consequence of its brain uptake, is discussed in comparison with the lack of taurine preventive action, when administered intraperitoneally (MUTANI et al., in press). The possibility of the taurine uptake by the normal brain and, therefore, of the prevention of the epilepsy would be related to the different anatomo-physiologic features of the barriers met in the two routes of administration.