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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Primary Culture of Rat Adrenocortical Cells and Assays of Steroidogenic Functions
Published on: March 12, 2019
Anticonvulsant actions of deoxycorticosterone
Claudia Perez-Cruz1, Deborah Lonsdale, W McIntyre Burnham
1The University of Toronto Epilepsy Research Program and Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A8.
Purpose:
Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) suppresses several types of childhood seizures, but it has many side effects. The mechanism of ACTH's anticonvulsant actions is not known. ACTH, however, releases deoxycorticosterone (DOC) - as well as cortisol - from the adrenal cortex and it has been suggested that DOC may mediate, at least in part, ACTH's anticonvulsant actions. The present study assessed DOC's anticonvulsant actions in infant rats. Age-related changes in DOC's anticonvulsant actions were also studied.
Methods:
DOC's anticonvulsant actions were assessed against hippocampal-kindled, maximal pentylenetetrazol test (MMT) and maximal electroshock (MES) seizures in 15-day-old rats. Age-related changes in responsiveness to DOC were also assessed using the MMT model.
Results:
DOC suppressed generalized convulsions in all three of the seizure models. Focal spiking in the hippocampal-kindling model, however, was not fully suppressed, even at high doses. Ataxia increased proportionally with the dose, with the time of peak seizure suppression roughly correlating with the time of peak ataxia in all models. DOC was anticonvulsant in both infant and adult rats. ED50s, however, were much higher in adults. Young rats showed ataxia at the time of testing (15 min), whereas adult rats did not, although ataxia was seen at later times.
Conclusions:
DOC is a potent anticonvulsant against generalized seizures, particularly in infants. It deserves a clinical test against generalized seizures in infants.
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