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Buthionine Sulfoximine Delays N-Methyl D-Aspartate-Induced Seizure Symptoms

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Summary

The purpose of this study was to test the possible protective effect of buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) against seizure symptoms induced by N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) in rats. Administration of 40 mmol/L BSO in 5% sucrose offered freely to adult male rats as the only source of drinking water for 1 week, or 0.25 μmol in 1μL of Krebs buffer by intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection, had no effect on the frequency of seizures induced by NMDA treatment (0.125 μmol given to the rats receiving the oral BSO treatment, or 0.025 μmol given 1 hour after the BSO injection). However, the latency to stage 1 symptoms was increased greatly and stages 2 and 3 symptoms were exhibited by only a few animals pretreated with BSO in the drinking water. ICV injection of BSO did not significantly increase the latency to stage 2 and 3 symptoms, but it reduced the duration of stage 2 symptoms and also the total duration of all symptoms. It appears that, under the conditions prevailing in this investigation, centrally administered BSO did not block seizure symptoms but only reduced their severity. On the other hand, orally administered BSO considerably delayed some of the symptoms.

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Lalitha, T., Yannai, S. Buthionine Sulfoximine Delays N-Methyl D-Aspartate-Induced Seizure Symptoms. Drug Invest. 3, 360–364 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03259753

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