ANTICONVULSIVE PROPERTIES OF DESOXYCORTICOSTERONE

Abstract

Interest in the potentialities of steroid hormones for the treatment of conditions other than specific hormonal deficiencies has been given recent impetus by the reports of the action of cortisone in rheumatoid arthritis,¹ of the action of desoxycorticosterone acetate and ascorbic acid in the same condition² and of the well known growth-promoting effects of testosterone compounds.³ The anticonvulsive effects of desoxycorticosterone acetate have been demonstrated repeatedly in animals⁴ since McQuarrie, Anderson, and Ziegler reported that desoxycorticosterone acetate prevented both the convulsive effects and alterations in electrolyte balance produced by vasopressin injection (pitressin®) in two patients with convulsive disorders.⁵ Aird showed that the anticonvulsive action of desoxycorticosterone acetate was of limited duration when convulsions were experimentally induced by epileptogenous agents in mice. On the other hand, he found no alteration of the convulsive threshold of dogs to electrical stimulation following the administration of desoxycorticosterone acetate and