Response of female mice to anticonvulsants after pretreatment with sex steroids.

Abstract

Female mice pretreated with 10 mg per kg of body weight of lynestrenol 1.0 mg/kg mestranol or the vehicle alone daily for 4 days followed on Day 5 with an intraperitoneal injection of an anticonvulsant (20 mg/kg phenytoin sodium 40 mg/kg phenobarbitone sodium 80 mg/kg chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride or 2 mg/kg diazepam) were subjected at various times to a maximal electroshock which had produced tonic extensor convulsions in 100% of all animals not receiving an anticonvulsant. Lynestrenol reduced the activity of each anticonvulsant while mestranol enhanced the activities. Either may influence the rate of metabolism of the anticonvulsant and/or the brain 5-hydroxytryptamine level which separately influences susceptibility to electroshock seizures.