DELAY OR INHIBITION OF CONVULSIONS BY INTRAPERITONEAL INJECTIONS OF DIVERSE SUBSTANCES

Abstract

Prior intraperitoneal injections, into mice or rats, of strong solutions of γ-aminobutyric acid, DL-alanine, other amino acids, succinate, or sucrose tend to postpone or prevent convulsions and death caused by the administration of oxygen at high pressure, picrotoxin, or pentylenetetrazol. Sodium chloride solution was not as consistently effective. Protection against strychnine was not obvious. Injections of urea solutions or plain water were not effective. Intraperitoneal injections of the "protective" solutions cause increased osmolarity of the serum and dehydration of the brain; the latter effect may be partly responsible for the elevation of seizure thresholds.