THE EFFECTS OF SUSTAINED PITUITARY ANTIDIURESIS AND FORCED WATER DRINKING IN EPILEPTIC CHILDREN. A DIAGNOSTIC AND ETIOLOGIC STUDY 12

Abstract

Experimental and clinical data are presented to show the effects of sustained pituitary antidiuresis and water drinking on more than 40 mildly epileptic as contrasted with 18 non-epileptic children. Typical grand-mat seizures can be induced within 12-48 hrs. in the epileptic subject by giving 2-5 cc. water per kgm. body weight per hr. while maintaining effective pituitary antidiuresis. Dilution of the extracellular body fluids appeared to be an essential factor in seizures since administration of an amount of NaCl just sufficient to prevent dilution tended to interfere with the seizures. The results support the view that the mechanism for controlling semipermeability of the brain cell membranes is inherently defective in the epileptic patient.