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The effects of vigabatrin on type II spike wave discharges in rats
Brigitte M Bouwman1, Philip L C van den Broek, Gilles van Luijtelaar
1NICI/Department of Biological Psychology, University of Nijmegen, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. b.bouwman@nici.kun.nl
Abstract:
The antiepileptic drug vigabatrin increases GABA concentrations by inhibiting GABA transaminase. The effects of vigabatrin on type II spike wave discharges (SWDs) in the electroencephalogram of ACI rats were studied in order to learn more about the effects of altering GABA concentration on SWDs. The incidence of type II SWDs increased after vigabatrin (60/h) as compared to saline treatment (3.7/h). This effect appeared with a halftime of 100 min. The duration of type II SWDs increased after vigabatrin (1.52 s) as compared to saline treatment (1.04 s), but the peak-frequency of the type II SWDs decreased after vigabatrin (5.6 Hz) as compared to saline treatment (7.5 Hz). Thus, vigabatrin alters the type II SWD morphology. These results are in agreement with predictions of Destexhe's theoretical model, modulating both GABA(A) and GABA(B) conductances.