Neonatal seizures and GABAergic drugs: Scylla and Charybdis?

Neonates have a high incidence of seizures that are frequently difficult to control with conventional first-line anti-seizure medications, which are gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonists. The reasons for this clinical problem are multifold but are likely related to the unique physiology of the immature nervous system. Specifically, the early and transient neuronal expression of ion transporters that lead to higher concentrations of chloride inside the cell creates an electrochemical gradient that is depolarizing when chloride channels open, as they do when the GABAA receptor is activated. The later expression of chloride exporting transporters eventually leads to a chloride gradient that is hyperpolarizing, but this does not occur uniformly across the brain. The early depolarizing effect of GABAA receptor activity may have important functions in normal brain development but could theoretically impact therapies designed to enhance GABAergic transmission in neonates. In several studies, neonatal status epilepticus induced in the first 2 weeks of rodent life produces no or minimal brain injury in otherwise normal rodents. However, in certain settings, injury may ensue. A model of pilocarpine-induced seizures induced by higher doses of lithium and pilocarpine in P7 rats has demonstrated that widespread cell death can be seen in unmedicated animals experiencing severe seizures. Injury is further enhanced by treatment with either midazolam or phenobarbital. The effect is separate from the enhancement of apoptosis that has been reported with higher doses of the same drugs. Though limited, these data align with other basic studies and clinical reports that raise questions as to whether enhancement of GABA activity is the best approach for treating all neonatal seizures. GABAA receptor agonists are still used in the clinical setting for the treatment of neonatal seizures. Further basic and clinical research studies are needed to understand the short- and long-term effects of common first-line anti-seizure drugs and to investigate viable alternatives. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: In the newborn brain, the neurotransmitter GABA, acting through GABAA receptors, which inhibits neurons in the adult brain, can be depolarizing. Status epilepticus has been reported to cause less severe injury in immature rats compared to adults. In certain settings, however, severe neonatal status epilepticus injury could be observed, and drugs that activate GABAA receptors, like phenobarbital and midazolam, can make seizure-associated brain damage worse in newborn rats. More studies are needed to better understand this problem and create better and safer treatments for neonatal seizures.