Background: Gabapentin (GBP) is used as an adjuvant drug in the treatment of partial seizures. However, there exist limited data demonstrating its antiepileptic activity in generalized seizures.
Aims and Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the anticonvulsant activity of GBP using experimental models in mice.
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted after the Institutional Animal Ethics Committee approval. Anticonvulsant activity of GBP in mice was evaluated against maximal electroshock (MES) and pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced convulsions. MES is a standard model used to evaluate drugs which are effective in grand mal epilepsy, whereas PTZ is used to evaluate drugs effective in petit mal epilepsy. A total of 12 mice were assessed in each model, six mice in each group for control and test. The control group was administered 0.2 ml normal saline single dose per day i.p and test group was administered GBP (0.468 mg/g body wt. of mice) single dose per day i.p for 5 consecutive days. On the 5th day, the anticonvulsant activities were evaluated using both models.
Results: In MES model, we observed 83.34% protection against tonic hind limb extension (THE) in GBP group while there was 0% in control group. However, in PTZ model, GBP was ineffective in preventing seizures but was effective in reducing the severity of seizures and mortality (16.67%) compared to control (100%).
Conclusion: The results obtained showed that GBP significantly inhibited generalized seizures (protection against THE) induced through MES. However, GBP has partial protective effect on PTZ-induced seizures.
Key words: Gabapentin; Antiepileptic; Generalized Seizures; Maximal Electroshock-induced Convulsions; Pentylenetetrazol-induced Convulsions; Experimental Model
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