Effects of some anticonvulsant drugs on brain GABA level and GAD and GABA-T activities

The effect of anticonvulsant drugs was examined on brain GABA levels and GAD and GABA-T activities. The level of GABA was increased by the treatment with diphenylhydantoin. The drug had no effect on GABA-T activity, whereas GAD activity was inhibited. Carbamazepine increased the GABA level but did not effect GAD and GABA-T activities. Diazepam had no effect on GABA level and GAD activity, whereas it caused a slight inhibition of GABA-T activity. Phenobarbital administration decreased GABA level only at the higher concentration. Clonazepam effected only GAD activity. Some anticonvulsant drugs generally increase brain GABA level; however the lack of correlation with an effect on the GAD and GABA-T activities indicate that other factors than metabolism, such as membrane transport processes, are involved in the mechanism of action of anticonvulsant drugs.